US Congress Members Push SEC’s Gensler to Greenlight Bitcoin ETFs Now

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Mike Flood and Tom Emmer, along with Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Wiley Nickel, are urging Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler to promptly approve the listing of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

In a letter sent on Tuesday, they argued that a regulated spot bitcoin ETF would enhance investor protection by offering transparent and secure access to bitcoin.

The lawmakers emphasized Congress’s responsibility to ensure the SEC approves investment products that meet the legislative criteria, urging Gensler to greenlight spot-bitcoin ETFs without delay.

Last month, Grayscale Investments achieved a legal victory when a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the SEC needed to reevaluate its denial of a spot bitcoin ETF proposal. Grayscale had sued the agency last year after its initial proposal was rejected.

The court’s decision focused on the SEC’s disparate treatment of spot bitcoin ETFs compared to similar funds based on futures contracts, which the regulator had already approved.

The lawmakers stressed that a spot bitcoin ETF is virtually identical to a bitcoin futures ETF, making the SEC’s current stance untenable.

The SEC spokesperson stated that Gensler would respond directly to Congress members rather than through the media.

Although prominent firms like BlackRock and Fidelity have submitted applications for spot bitcoin ETFs over the past few months, the SEC has not yet granted approval.

In a separate development, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer expressed concerns that both the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) permitted registered broker-dealers with connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to operate in the United States.

Luetkemeyer argued that existing guidance was inadequate, particularly concerning non-China-based U.S. firms with CCP ties, and cited broker-dealers like Prometheum Inc., Webull Financial, LLC, and Moomoo, Inc.

Luetkemeyer emphasized that registered broker-dealers played a significant role in the financial markets, particularly in providing products and services to retail investors that involved collecting substantial amounts of customer personal information.

He raised questions about the SEC’s data security concerns related to CCP ties and requested responses from Gensler and FINRA President Robert Cook by October 26.