Deciphered law: Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds back in trading, from 2

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s continued opposition to discovering Bitcoin ETFs has drawn the ire of industry players.

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Remember the time when a senior government official mentioned bitcoin, stablecoins, or even a central bank digital currency as major news around the world? It feels like it’s forever. As we find ourselves in the midst of a global mainstream of digital assets, such claims appear and are expected on a daily basis. Randal Quarles, an outgoing member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, has warned of overregulation of stablecoins and even dismissed some of the conclusions of the general’s Financial Markets Working Group system in his November report. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that no decision has been made on the digital dollar issue, but prospective Fed Vice President Lael Brainard appears to be joining the CBDC project. It goes without saying that economic leaders have delved deep into these issues.

Below is a short version of the latest “Deciphered Law” newsletter. For full details on political developments over the past week, sign up for the full newsletter below.

SEC rejoins the ETF hot seat

In the meantime, the Securities and Exchange Commission maintains its stance on Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds. WisdomTree’s application for a spot BTC product traded on the CBOE bZx Exchange is another application that has been rejected by the regulator. The rationale for this decision is known given that in the SEC ruling, sponsors of the proposed ETF lack a demonstrated ability to prevent fraud and manipulation and protect investors.

The SEC has been criticized from many quarters for its discriminatory stance, which accepts derivative products based on derivatives of an asset while prohibiting products based on the asset itself. The most recent criticism came from asset manager Grayscale Investments in a letter to SEC Secretary Vanessa Countryman in which the company argued that failure to treat two types of BTC-based products violated the Ethics Administrative Protection Act (APA).

Crypto CEO climbs the hill

This weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee will convene a hearing that will focus on digital assets and the future of finance – in fact, the hearing is officially called. Top crypto executives, including those from Circle, FTX, Bitfury and Coinbase, will climb Capitol Hill to advocate solid industry regulation and defend their role in the country’s economic competitiveness. This could be the greatest opportunity in months for crypto space leaders to listen to key lawmakers and share their opinions and suggestions directly.

Update terminal

The last edition of this newsletter focuses heavily on incredible news outside of India, where a new bill points to a possible total ban on all “private cryptocurrencies”. The good news is that things can be less terrible than they appear at first glance. Bill’s sponsor, former Indian Finance Minister Subhash Garg, followed suit with a statement that the language surrounding the futures ban was “misleading” and that the actual form of the country’s cryptocurrency regulation would emerge after extensive discussions with stakeholders and industry participants.

Additionally, a cabinet note received from local media suggests that the government is envisaging a range of regulatory measures surrounding crypto assets rather than an outright ban.