Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has said in an interview with CNBC that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the spot price of Bitcoin by the end of 2023. He has said: “It’s going to get approved, we think it happens this year in 2023.” Novogratz has referred to the late August court decision that granted Grayscale Investments’ petition against the SEC over the regulator’s refusal to convert GBTC into a Bitcoin ETF. The media has reported that the SEC does not intend to appeal the decision. Galaxy Digital’s CEO has explained: “The judge said, ‘what are you talking about SEC? You have a futures ETF and you’re saying you can’t have a cash ETF. That makes intellectually zero sense.’ And I think that put the SEC on the back foot.” Recall that Galaxy Digital, owned by Novogratz, filed in July for a joint offering with Invesco for a Bitcoin ETF. In October, the companies also filed for approval of an Ethereum spot ETF.
