A latest revelation threatens to solid a shadow over the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) handling of Bitcoin spot ETF applications, that are currently up for decision. The central query emerges: Is SEC chair Gary Gensler sharing an undisclosed affiliation with a company opposing the spot Bitcoin ETF?

Castle Island Ventures General Partner Matt Walsh drew attention to an opposition letter on the Fidelity Bitcoin ETF proposal sent to the SEC by independent organization Higher Markets, Inc. The contents of the letter have the potential to cause an uproar within the Bitcoin community. In keeping with Walsh, the letter incorporates “questionable, if not outright false, claims about how the spot and futures markets for Bitcoin work today.”

Higher Markets argued fervently against the proposed rule change to permit a spot ETF. Their assertion reads:

The spot Bitcoin markets have a history of artificially inflated trading volumes attributable to rampant manipulation and wash trading; are highly concentrated; and depend on a specific group of people and entities to keep up Bitcoin’s network.

Moreover, Higher Markets argues that the “CME Bitcoin futures market is just not a regulated market of great size and the surveillance-sharing agreements with Coinbase add little to no value.”

Anti-Bitcoin Spot ETF Letter Staged?

Yet what has truly captured the community’s attention isn’t just the content of the letter, however the seemingly intricate connections between the SEC, its chairman, and Higher Markets. Walsh writes, “the letter comes off prefer it might have been written by Elizabeth Warren, Gary Gensler or Sherrod Brown, the leaders of the Anti-Crypto army. And guess who supports Higher Markets?”

As Walsh discovered, Gary Gensler has met with Higher Markets nine times since he became SEC Chairman in 2021.” That may be a level of access no-one within the digital asset markets, apart from Sam Bankman-Fried has ever received.

Adding more intrigue, Justin Slaughter, Policy Director at Paradigm, identified: “The top of Higher Markets was also chosen by Chair Gensler to be on the Biden Transition team for finreg agencies.”

These revelations have sparked significant chatter amongst market experts. Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg, remarked:

Good thread on relationship between Higher Markets and Gensler and why politics is probably going rather more essential than all of the supposed legal features of this, unfortunately.

Also, there’s one more reason to be suspicious. Each Gensler and anti-crypto Senator Elizabeth Warren have provided testimonials for Higher Markets, as revealed on the organization’s website.

The gravity of those allegations is further intensified given the burden carried by the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF. A Bitcoin spot ETF approval is widely viewed as a significant catalyst for the market. With the SEC deadline on September 1 rapidly approaching, the market waits with bated breath for the commission’s decision regarding the spot ETF applications from financial giants BlackRock and Fidelity.

At press time, the BTC price was at $29,596.

Featured image from cripto tendencia, chart from TradingView.com