One of the great hopes for crypto-market ignition seems as far away as ever in America after the SEC rejected Grayscale‘s latest attempt to get a spot Bitcoin ETF over the line.

And the world’s largest Bitcoin fund manager is pissed (in the American sense of the word).

So much so that it’s decided enough’s enough – it’s time it better call Saul. Or, at least, some non-fictional legal big guns to sue the US Securities Exchange Commission. Wonder if Ripple Labs has some tips.

The crypto industry in the US has been crying out for a spot (“physically backed”) Bitcoin exchange-traded fund for a good few years now, but while Gary Gensler remains the influential regulator’s chair, it seems the frustration will continue. It’s also not the first time Grayscale has been on the top of the cold-shouldering SEC’s list of rejected big-gun US fundies.

The SEC has so far only approved futures-backed ETFs, which allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin price values through futures contracts, without actually buying the asset.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs, on the other hand (such as the ones recently approved in Australia for example), are seen as real-deal ETFs that would bring further legitimacy to the asset and open it up to larger institutional investment. They’re purchased at the actual BTC price point and actually stored within the fund, rather than being a glorified IOU of sorts.

As per previous BTC ETF rejections, the SEC reportedly cited a “failure by the investment manager to answer questions about concerns around market manipulation”.

But what also stings about that, according to many crypto supporters/observers, is the fact the SEC recently approved a ProShares Bitcoin inverse/shorting ETF, trading against the price of Bitcoin and profiting when the daily BTC price declines.

Fact is, though, that one’s actually doing pretty well at the moment!

In a statement on Wednesday regarding the rejection, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said:

“Grayscale supports and believes in the SEC’s mandate to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation – and we are deeply disappointed by and vehemently disagree with the SEC’s decision to continue to deny spot Bitcoin ETFs from coming to the US market.”

 

But… Europe is getting its first spot Bitcoin ETF

Some better news here… London-based Jacobi Asset Management has announced it’s launching a European spot Bitcoin ETF this July.

The exchange-traded fund will be named the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF and will be listed on the major Dutch exchange Euronext Amsterdam under the ticker BCOIN.

The investment product is being positioned as the first spot Bitcoin ETF to be launched in Europe, according to Jacobi’s CEO Jamie Khurshid, who was speaking with Cointelegraph.

“Our product is the first spot or physical-backed Bitcoin fund, and the fund is not allowed to lend, stake or leverage any of the assets it owns,” said Khurshid, a former Goldman Sachs banker. “For the first time in Europe, investors buying an exchange-traded Bitcoin product will own the units that own the Bitcoin.

“There are other exchange-traded products in Europe but no other spot BTC ETF,” he added.

 

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