The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia отменил the SEC’s order requiring SPIKES index instruments — a stock-volatility indicator — to be treated as futures, and not as securities futures.
A three-judge panel called the Commission’s order \”arbitrary and capricious\”.
«SEC не смогла адекватно представить аргументацию […] . Агентство также не учло возможность, что предоставление ею исключительных мер приведет к путанице среди участников рынка», the ruling states.
The decision concerned the Commission’s 2020 order excluding the SPIKES index from the definition of securities futures.
Following this step, the agency removed high taxes and other regulatory requirements related to regulating the ‘securities’ in relation to the instrument. The agency aimed to spur competition among volatility indices.
Following the court’s decision, SPIKES-index instruments are now treated as \”securities futures\” rather than \”futures.\” Market participants have three months to close out their trades.
Two of the judges on the panel are now considering the Grayscale case, the aim of which is to invalidate the SEC’s denial of the application to convert GBTC into a spot Bitcoin-ETF, attorney James Murphy noted.
Analyst Eric Balchunas said the ruling shows the Commission could lose the case.
In July 2023, Grayscale urged the SEC to approve all spot Bitcoin ETFs.