Novogratz Says Bitcoin ETF Will Be Approved This Year by the SEC

Muyao Shen, Bloomberg News

The bitcoin logo on the window of a cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) kiosk in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. A dramatic increase in the size and complexity of crypto markets means the sector is on track to become a risk for financial stability that must urgently be regulated, the European Central Bank said. Photographer: Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Novogratz says he expects the US Securities and Exchange Commission will finally approve exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin this year.

“It’s gonna get approved,” Novogratz, the founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., said during an interview on CNBC. “We actually think it’s gonna happen in 2023.”

He added that “the most significant piece is the SEC lost in the court.”

In August, Grayscale Investments LLC won what some industry observers called a watershed victory when a US appeals panel overturned the SEC’s rejection of a plan to convert its Bitcoin trust to an ETF. The SEC declined to appeal the ruling last week.

Galaxy is partnering with Invesco on an application, he said.