The Wall Street Journal accused SEC chairman Gary Gensler of a “confusing” approach to accepting a spot bitcoin ETF.

According to journalists, the head of the department “held” investors until the Commission established control over the cryptocurrency market.

The article comes after Grayscale and Bitwise denied product registration a week ago.

The regulator justified the decision by failing to comply with the “prevention of fraudulent and manipulative acts” requirements. […]and to protect investors and public interests.”

The publication stated that the capitalization of bitcoin is $390 billion, and its market is the most mature of all cryptocurrencies. This will complicate the activities of intruders

The commission’s requirement that “a significant portion of commerce takes place in a regulated market” was termed unfulfillable by the publication. Transactions take place on crypto exchanges where the ministry has no supervisory authority.

To confirm the market’s resilience to manipulation, the SEC has set a higher standard than other commodities for approving digital gold-based spot ETPs. The WSJ stressed that the regulator has not disclosed how it will satisfy this.

The SEC delay is even more baffling with the approval of bitcoin futures ETFs. Derivatives are trading CMEhowever, their prices are fixed on the same major cryptocurrency exchanges offered in spot ETF orders.

The publication concluded that Gensler used the platform’s reliance on registration with the SEC as an excuse to curb the erratic nature of the markets.

“Crypto markets may look like the Wild West, but that’s not a reason to reject the agency’s issuing spot bitcoin ETFs. “The “blockade” of Gensler is counterproductive if its purpose is to protect investors,” the Wall Street Journal said.

The journalists did not rule out that the situation could be changed by a lawsuit initiated by Congress or by Grayscale Investments. The latter has a high chance of ending in favor of the management company.

Grayscale Investments filed an application to convert a digital gold-backed trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF on October 19, 2021.

On December 17, the SEC delayed a decision on his application. In February 2022 the Commission took this step again.

Spot bitcoin ETFs have been approved by regulators in Canada, Brazil, Australia, and the Netherlands.

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