The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is facing its first deadlines to decide on seven spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, the most recent on September 4 following its defeat to Grayscale Investments in a U.S. federal appeals court.

According to SEC filings, investment firm Bitwise will learn if its ETF will be approved by the SEC on Sept. 1, while BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco, and Wisdomtree will all learn if their funds will be approved by the SEC on Sept. 2. Meanwhile, Valkyrie expects to hear from the SEC on September 4.

The United States Court of Appeals ruled on August 29 that the SEC's rejection of Grayscale's application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF was "arbitrary and capricious".

Yet, that does not mean the SEC must approve Grayscale's or future applications, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. Grayscale's win, Seyffart explained in an Aug. 29 Bloomberg interview, "definitely" raises the prospects of a positive verdict for the next wave of candidates.

He is unsure when that day will arrive, however, because the SEC can postpone decisions and has proposed two more deadlines for each fund before being required to make a final decision on the 240th day after filing.

The SEC's final deadlines for pending applications are all in mid-March of next year.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-decisions-on-seven-bitcoin-etfs-in-six-days

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-08-29/bloomberg-crypto-08-29-2023?sref=j5fwnYfu

https://www.sec.gov/edgar