SEC Chairman Gensler Wishes Bitcoin White Paper Happy Birthday With Warning to Crypto Companies
The Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, wished the Bitcoin white paper a happy birthday. In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday, the regulator wrote: âHappy 15th anniversary to Satoshi's famous white paper that started crypto.â
He also attempted to make a humorous comment regarding Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto's Halloween costume, asking if we could find out if Satoshi dressed up as himself for Halloween. Gensler ended his post with a trick-or-treating message for crypto companies. âAny crypto companies that defraud investors should start treating them in accordance with securities laws,â he warned.
Gensler's message received a lot of comments on social media, with many focusing on when he plans to approve a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). To date, the securities watchdog has not approved a spot bitcoin ETF, although it has given approval to several ETFs based on bitcoin futures contracts. Gensler has repeatedly said that he views all crypto tokens as securities, except bitcoin.
The SEC chairman said this week that the regulator is considering eight to 10 spot bitcoin ETF applications. According to public records, 12 spot bitcoin ETF applications have been filed with the SEC, including Grayscale Investments' application to convert its bitcoin trust (GBTC) into a spot bitcoin ETF. Other suitors include Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management, Blackrock, Bitwise, Wisdomtree, Fidelity, Vaneck, and Invesco. Eight applications have a possible final review date in the first quarter of next year, and three applications have a final possible review date in the second quarter.
#bitcoin #BitcoinETF