U.S. SEC delays decision on Grayscale's spot bitcoin ETF

Ilustration shows representations of virtual cryptocurrencies on U.S. Dollar banknotes
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Dec 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the world's largest digital currency manager.

In a notice dated Wednesday, the markets regulator said it now expects to review Grayscale's proposal by Feb. 6, later than the original December deadline.

In October, Grayscale, which has over $45 billion of cryptocurrency assets under management, had said it plans to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.PK) into a spot bitcoin ETF.

The first U.S. bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund also began trading that month, taking bitcoin's price to a six-month high. However, the cryptocurrency has since eased and it is currently trading below $50,000.

Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.

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