Summary
- Grayscale is currently involved in a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- The SEC denied Grayscale’s application for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
- Donald Verrilli Jr., an Obama-era U.S. solicitor general, is leading Grayscale’s legal defense.
Grayscale Sues SEC
Earlier today, we published an article talking about a lawsuit between Alameda Research and Grayscale. The former is suing the latter and claims it’s holding roughly $9 billion in investment funds that can (and should) be going to its many customers. As it turns out, Grayscale is also involved in a whole separate lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Not long ago, the agency turned down the company’s application for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This wasn’t a surprise given that the agency has done this with many companies, and it appears hellbent on ending all crypto-related innovation. However, Grayscale didn’t take the maneuver sitting down. It filed suit against the firm and a federal appellate court judge is now set to hear arguments regarding the case.
Donald Verrilli Jr.
Donald Verrilli Jr. – an Obama-era U.S. solicitor general that also serves as the lead counsel for Grayscale – explained in a recent statement: The most basic way in which an agency can act in an arbitrary and capricious manner is to take like cases… and treat them differently, and essentially, that’s what we have here. The SEC has long made itself an enemy of sorts to the crypto space. Not long ago, the agency went after Kraken and engaged in legal proceedings against the crypto exchange that caused it to part with a $30 million penalty fee. As part of a settlement, the firm was also forced to end all staking services. This caused many people to worry that the SEC was going to attack all staking outlets in the U.S., and industry heads like Brian Armstrong of Coinbase fame said they would defend staking to the death if they felt doing so was necessary.
Inadequate ETFs
While a bitcoin ETF has indeed been permitted within America’s borders, it was not based on spot trading (i
