Since the historic lawsuit win of Grayscale Investments over the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) became public knowledge, experts in the industry have been weighing on the prospects of the main basis of the suit, the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF product. XRP holders' lawyer John Deaton has weighed in on the subject, asking crucial questions as to when the product might finally be approved.
Deaton perspective
Deaton's comments come on the heels of a Bloomberg report that noted that even though a spot Bitcoin ETF has not been approved after this massive lawsuit win, the victory is still a big one for the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. To the XRP holders' lawyer, the lawsuit and the accompanying win is a major one for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Miners Coinbase and the industry in general.
The veteran crypto lawyer noted that while Grayscale's expectation of a Bitcoin ETF may not happen immediately, he debunked the crux of the Bloomberg news report, saying he believes a spot Bitcoin ETF is happening. Deaton, however, pointed out that the relevant question to ask is whether the much-sought-after approval will come this year or not.
The general consensus from an industry expert is that the win is not a direct order to the SEC to approve the request to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an active spot Bitcoin ETF, a process that will still take some time to be reviewed by the commission.
Huge step toward Bitcoin ETF race
Many companies in the financial world are jostling for a spot Bitcoin ETF approval with the U.S. SEC, which has until now rejected most applications filed in the past decade. The likes of BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Bitwise are all optimistic that the SEC will have a change of heart in its stance on permitting the trading of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
This Grayscale win and the invalidation of the regulator's excuse of manipulation might either make or break the applications, but all in all, experts believe the win is a huge step forward.