Grayscale Bitcoin ETF lawsuit ruling may be settled this week

Grayscale Investments, which has been seeking to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), could see a ruling on its lawsuit against federal securities regulators by the end of the week.

Scott Johnsson, general partner at Van Buren Capital, explained in an Aug. 11 tweet that U.S. District Court clerks typically rotate in August, forcing judges to clear their caseloads “before the new guard arrives.”

He noted that 30 of the 32 cases in March 2021 and March 2022 were heard by U.S. District Court within 160 days of oral testimony, which was also in August, adding that 160 days had also passed since Grayscale had oral arguments in 2020. On March 7, Grayscale filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Johnson added that as of now, including Grayscale, only a handful of unresolved March dispute cases remain.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said the decision could even come as early as August 15, noting that date has long been his "theoretical Grayscale litigation decision date."

In June 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected Grayscale's application to convert its GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

In response, Grayscale sued the securities regulator, saying it acted arbitrarily and failed to apply consistent treatment to similar investment vehicles.

Many industry commentators, including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood and ETF analyst Nate Geraci, predicted that Grayscale would win the lawsuit.

Grayscale recently said that the SEC should approve all Bitcoin spot ETF applications at the same time to prevent companies from having an advantage over other applicants.