Crypto Firms Urge SEC to Expedite ETF Approval

Grayscale, 21Shares, a16z urge SEC to speed up ETF reviews.

Grayscale, 21Shares, a16z, and others have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to expedite the review of ETFs and amend the registration process.

In a public comment on future regulations, Grayscale suggested allowing confidential submission of draft documents for exchange-traded products before public disclosure. The company believes this would reduce the incentive for competitors to copy or duplicate applications.

Grayscale also demanded that SEC staff respond to requests within 45 days.

21Shares made similar proposals. Previously, the Commission had asked market participants whether artificial intelligence contributes to multiple nearly identical applications for “new” ETFs.

a16z also urged for shorter review periods, citing electronic document submission, the template nature of disclosures, and the repetitive nature of questions from product to product.

However, a16z emphasized that speeding up the process should not mean less thorough scrutiny.

Opposition

Representatives from Jane Street, on the other hand, warned that the race for speed could lead to hasty registrations and reduce the time for feedback from market makers on fund structure and liquidity. The company suggested launching such products with at least two authorized participants.