Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has filed a Freedom of Access to Information (FOIA) request regarding the SEC’s approval of a spot Ethereum ETF.
In a June 5 KITCO interview, Seyffart said the disclosure request should search for “anyone who spoke with (SEC Chairman) Gary Gensler” to determine what happened in the SEC’s decision-making process.
He said there may be unused denial orders due to the agency’s drastic change in position.
voting is unclear
Seyffart said the SEC approved a spot Ethereum ETF through delegated authority. This is a common approach, but an uncommon choice for the problem at hand.
Delegated powers also mean voting records are unclear.
Seyffart said the selection indicated a politically motivated decision.
“Until someone came forward and showed me gun evidence… this was a political thing.”
Seyffart said the “leading theory” is that members of the Biden administration called SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to influence the agency’s decision.
The second theory assumes that someone swayed the votes of Democratic SEC commissioners who previously voted against spot Bitcoin ETFs. The reverse vote would have allowed the SEC to vote at least 3-2 on the spot Ethereum ETF even if Gensler had voted against the fund.
It is still possible for commissioners to challenge decisions and force a vote. But Seyffart said Democratic commissioners would gain nothing by being transparent about their voting records.
He previously said the challenge was: unlikely to have an impact Actual voting results.
SEC Should Be Less Political
Seyffart also discussed the broader impact politics has on the SEC. He argued that the SEC should not be completely apolitical, but rather less political than it currently is.
Seyffart believes that until recently the SEC decided to reject spot cryptocurrency ETFs and has since struggled to find a legal justification for its stance.
Instead, the chair must select the issues the agency focuses on and seek legal opinions from individual members to make decisions “based on logic and reason,” Seyffart said.