Grayscale’s recent legal victory has sparked interest from investors in Bitcoin, but the company still faces challenges. Whales have shown a strong interest in Bitcoin, but miner revenue has declined.
The battle continues
On August 29, the DC Circuit’s Court of Appeals overturned the SEC’s denial of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) conversion into a spot Bitcoin ETF. GBTC shareholders and the crypto community celebrated this victory. Grayscale’s legal team sent a letter to the SEC, emphasizing that there were no valid reasons to differentiate spot Bitcoin ETFs from Bitcoin futures ETFs. The letter also highlighted the Trust’s pending Rule 19b-4 filing, which had been delayed unreasonably, violating the law. Grayscale’s legal team urged the SEC to promptly approve NYSE Arca’s Rule 19b-4 filing to ensure fairness for GBTC’s investors. While GBTC is ready to operate as an ETF once it receives regulatory approval, the victory may not immediately transform the Bitcoin investment landscape.
Increasing Interest from Institutional Investors
Additionally, institutional investors’ interest in Bitcoin was not only demonstrated through ETF applications. Recently, there has been a significant increase in attention from large Bitcoin holders, also known as whales. According to data from Glassnode, the number of addresses holding 10 or more coins reached a new all-time high of 157,460. This surpasses the previous record set in September 2019. The growing interest from whales could have significant implications for Bitcoin’s future. It could potentially lead to price spikes and even centralization of the cryptocurrency. On the other hand, Bitcoin miners have experienced a decrease in their revenues, which is a concern as it may lead them to sell their holdings to maintain profitability. This selling pressure could contribute to downward price movements for Bitcoin. As of now, Bitcoin is trading at $25,747.84, with a slight decline of 0.07% in the past 24 hours.