Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein on Tuesday reiterated that "all options" are on the table if the Securities and Exchange Commission rejects his firm's application regarding a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Mr. Sonnenshein was asked by Bloomberg journalist Katie Greifeld during a session at the Exchange conference in Miami, Fla., what would happen if the July 6 deadline for the SEC to rule on Grayscale's application arrives and the application is rejected. Grayscale is seeking to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to an ETF.
"I think what you're indirectly asking me is if we would ever sue the SEC," said the CEO, who cited the Administrative Procedure Act.
The act essentially governs the way that regulators regulate, Mr. Sonnenshein said.
"And when they're looking at two issues that are alike, they as a regulator need to look at the two issues through a like lens," he said. "And so, what we find ourselves in is a scenario where there is an APA violation here if the SEC is approving bitcoin futures ETFs."
So far, the SEC has only permitted bitcoin futures ETFs, while rejecting spot bitcoin ETFs.
During the session, Mr. Sonnenshein also commented on the evolution of cryptocurrency adoption.
"What's been interesting about the evolution of crypto adoption is that as opposed to a lot of other asset classes or financial product innovations that typically went to institutions first and then made their way down to retail, in the case of crypto, it actually went into the hands of retail first," he said.
