GBTC premium nears 2022 highs, SEC faces calls to approve 'what people really want' Bitcoin ETF

Things are looking up for the largest U.S. institutional bitcoin offering by asset holdings as pressure mounts on regulators.

Data from on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass confirms that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is rallying towards 2022 highs as of April 21.

Grayscale CEO: US Bitcoin spot ETF is not "if" will be launched, but "when" will be launched

After a rough year so far, GBTC has benefited from steady movements in the price of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s drop from November’s all-time high has exacerbated GBTC’s already negative “premium,” meaning its price is effectively trading at a discount to Bitcoin’s spot price. In January of this year, the GBTC premium was close to -30%, the largest drop ever.

Things have reversed since then, with the premium at -21.4% as of Thursday, close to its highest level in 2022.

GBTC Premium vs. Asset Holdings vs. BTC/USD Chart Source: Coinglass

The premium stems from trading sentiment, which has put Grayscale under pressure over the past year, especially following the approval of the first U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on bitcoin futures.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein and others in the industry have been outspoken critics of regulators in Washington who, while approving a futures ETF product, have resisted launching a bitcoin-based spot ETF product.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which approves ETF candidates under a law dating back to 1933, has come under public rebuke for other countries (the latest being Australia) for getting ahead of the U.S. in doing so.

Earlier this month, the U.S. SEC approved another futures-based ETF, this time based on the Securities Act of 1933 rather than the Investment Company Act of 1940 previously used. It’s a milestone, Sonnenshein told CNBC this month, as it effectively corners the U.S. SEC, with fewer and fewer excuses for not breaking down barriers to entry for spot ETF alternatives.

"In our view, it's really a question of 'when' rather than 'if'," he explained to CNBC.

“If the US SEC cannot look at the two similar issues of futures ETFs and spot ETFs in the same light, then in fact, this may become grounds for violating the Administrative Procedure Act.”

Matt Hougan, CEO of ETF provider Bitwise, said in the same interview that spot ETFs “are what people really want” in terms of institutional investment products tied to bitcoin.

As Cointelegraph reported, futures ETFs have also faced criticism before, with commentators arguing that they fail to solve any of the pain points that spot products can, while potentially creating new ones.

Nasdaq highlights 'surge' in institutional demand

Meanwhile, a Nasdaq survey of potential U.S. investors revealed that more than 70% of respondents would consider investing in bitcoin through a spot ETF if it were available.

“The vast majority of advisors we surveyed either plan to begin allocating funds to cryptocurrencies or increase exposure to existing cryptocurrencies configure."

“As demand continues to soar, advisors will be looking for institutional solutions to the crypto issues currently dominating client conversations.”

The survey also found that 86 percent of advisors already invested in cryptocurrencies plan to increase their investments in the coming year.

As of Thursday, GBTC held 640,930 BTC worth $26.9 billion.

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