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<\/a><\/div>\nCourts issued a new mandate concerning Grayscale\u2019s spot Bitcoin ETF proposal on Oct. 23<\/a>, followed by gains across multiple markets.<\/p>\n Grayscale<\/a> aims to convert its GBTC fund to a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Courts issued a judgment compelling the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review the relevant proposal on Aug. 29<\/a>. The matter attracted attention again this week as courts issued a formal mandate that further compels a review.<\/p>\n The latest mandate has coincided with growth among multiple assets. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) \u2014 the subject of the above proceedings \u2014 is up 5.9% today.<\/p>\n The crypto market, meanwhile, has seen broader gains. Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) gained 7.6% in the 24-hour period ending 10 p.m. UTC on Aug 24. Bitcoin outperformed Ethereum (ETH<\/a>), up 3.9% over the same time period, and the entire crypto market, up 5.4%.<\/p>\n Coinbase<\/a> stock (COIN), meanwhile, gained 6.3%. Those gains may in part be attributed to a filing deadline in the company\u2019s own legal case with the SEC or other broader developments concerning the crypto exchange. However, it should be noted that Coinbase is expected to take part in surveillance-sharing agreements<\/a> for various planned ETFs, including BlackRock\u2019s but excluding Grayscale\u2019s proposed fund.<\/p>\n Recent spot Bitcoin ETFs are largely seen as promising due to Grayscale\u2019s court victory, BlackRock\u2019s<\/a> pursuit of its own fund, and Coinbase\u2019s potential role in some ETFs.<\/p>\n However, despite that general optimism, the SEC has not approved any such fund to date, and there are causes for doubt. First, the above filing concerning Grayscale compels the SEC to review, but not necessarily approve, the company\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, reports of apparent progress on BlackRock\u2019s ETF appear to be premature. The ticker for BlackRock\u2019s planned ETF recently appeared on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation\u2019s (DTCC) website. Though that seemed to mark a step forward for the fund, the ticker later disappeared from listings<\/a>.<\/p>\n One former SEC attorney \u2014 though no longer involved in the agency \u2014 has also suggested<\/a> to Bloomberg that approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF is not a given.<\/p>\n At the time of press, Bitcoin<\/a> is ranked #1 by market cap and the BTC price is up 0.97%<\/span><\/strong> over the past 24 hours. BTC has a market capitalization of $660.78 billion<\/strong> with a 24-hour trading volume of $43.75 billion<\/strong>. Learn more about BTC \u203a<\/a><\/p>\nETF approval is far from guaranteed<\/h2>\n