Physical representations of the bitcoin cryptocurrency are seen in this illustration taken October 24, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsOct 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has eight to 10 filings of possible exchange-traded products for bitcoin in front of it for consideration, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said Thursday. Bitcoin has rallied this week on speculation that SEC approval is imminent for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) - seen as a driver of demand because it would allow investors to obtain direct exposure to the cryptocurrency via an exchange-listed product. To date, the SEC has approved only ETFs tied to bitcoin futures contracts. Anticipation around spot ETFs has been rising after the SEC opted not to appeal a court ruling it had been wrong to reject an application from Grayscale Investments to convert its existing bitcoin trust into a spot bitcoin ETF.

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Persons: Dado Ruvic, Gary Gensler, Bitcoin, I'm, Gensler, Jan, Douglas Gillison, Megan Davies, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, BlackRock, Fidelity, Thomson Locations: U.S