Does Grayscale’s Win Against the SEC Mean a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Be Approved? - Ep. 539

This week’s emphatic ruling in favor of Grayscale in its suit against the SEC to convert its massive bitcoin trust into an ETF generated plenty of hopium among the bitcoin faithful that a spot bitcoin ETF will get approved soon and open a flood of investment in bitcoin. What are the odds of that truly happening now, though, and if it did, how much additional money could wind up being invested in bitcoin as a result? Also, which companies’ applications would get approved first and how would the various products compete with one other? Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas separates the hype from the reality in answering these questions and more.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:

why Bloomberg increased the likelihood of a Bitcoin ETF being approved this year from 50% to 75%

how the ruling exceeded the expectations of the legal analysts at Bloomberg

why it's important that the ruling was a bipartisan decision

whether, from a legal perspective, it's "weird" to deny a spot ETF but approve a futures one

how a spot Bitcoin ETF would act as a bridge for Baby boomers to invest in crypto

what the two most likely SEC responses to the ruling are

what the likely timelines for an SEC spot Bitcoin ETF approval or disapproval would be

whether Gary Gensler's agency will approve Ethereum futures ETFs in the U.S.

why BlackRock's and Fidelity's ETFs are more likely to be approved first, according to Eric

how the different ETFs would compete in the market

why spot Bitcoin ETFs pose a serious threat to crypto exchanges' businesses

Eric's estimate of how much additional money would pour into Bitcoin if a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved

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Guest

Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence
Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on Grayscale and ETFs:

Why Grayscale Is Suing the SEC Over Its Denial of a Bitcoin ETF

Bitwise’s Latest Plans to Get a Bitcoin ETF Approved

DCG’s Dilemma: Should It Sell Its GBTC Holdings to Repay Gemini?

Gemini vs. DCG Is Heating Up. Could Gemini Force Genesis Into Bankruptcy?

‘The Last Big Whale’: Why the Crypto Contagion of 2022 Eventually Hit Genesis

Unchained:

Grayscale Wins Lawsuit Against SEC Over Denial of Bid to Convert GBTC Into a Bitcoin ETF

Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?

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