U.S. SEC rejects Grayscale’s spot bitcoin ETF

On Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission denied Grayscale's application to establish a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on NYSE Arca, one of the largest digital asset managers in the world.

The regulator said in a document that Grayscale's proposal by NYSE Arca did not adhere to the requirements for exchanges created to stop fraudulent and manipulative actions and safeguard investors and the general public interest.

The SEC clarified that their decision was not based on "a determination of the usefulness or value of bitcoin, or blockchain technology more broadly, as an invention or an investment."

An inquiry for comments was not immediately answered by Grayscale.

Over the last year, the SEC has turned down more than a dozen applications for spot bitcoin ETFs, mostly due to the absence of any surveillance-sharing arrangements with a regulated market of size that is relevant to the underlying assets.

The biggest digital currency, bitcoin, has lost roughly 70% of its value since reaching a high of approximately $69,000 in November.

As a result of investors selling riskier assets in reaction to rising inflation and major central banks' tightening of policy, which has raised concerns about a recession, the price of cryptocurrencies and equities tied to the industry has fallen sharply in recent months.

Fidelity, SkyBridge, and Valkyrie were among the issuers of spot bitcoin ETFs that the SEC rejected recently. They were all attempting to provide simple access to the virtual currency.