401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2023 - 12

401(k) FIDUCIARY FILE
Bitcoin ETF Approval Draws Closer with
Grayscale Court Win Over SEC
THE FIRST U.S. BITCOIN ETF is much closer to becoming a reality
after a federal appeals court ruled that the SEC must reconsider cryptocurrency
asset manager Grayscale Investments LLC's application to
convert its bitcoin trust into an ETF.
The ruling sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency world, with
bitcoin's price increasing 7% to nearly $28,000. Bitcoin is up 65% in
2023, but remains far off its late-2021 high above $69,000.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
orders the SEC to vacate its rejection of Grayscale's bid to convert the
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an exchange-traded fund. The ruling was
unanimous in a panel of three judges.
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote on behalf of the court, stating that
the SEC has approved bitcoin futures ETFs, and Grayscale advanced
substantial evidence that its product was similar to bitcoin futures ETFs
approved by the SEC. " The denial of Grayscale's proposal was arbitrary
and capricious because the Commission failed to explain its different
treatment of similar products, " Judge Rao wrote. " We therefore grant
Grayscale's petition and vacate the order. "
While the ruling does not mean the Grayscale bitcoin ETF is
automatically approved, it does provide a boost for what has been
a decade-long industry effort to advance a bitcoin ETF product, and
may well pave the way for broad investor adoption of ETFs backed by
bitcoin rather than futures.
Biden Formally Unveils SAVE Plan to Combat
Student Loan Debt
THE WHITE HOUSE announced the official launch of what President
Joe Biden is calling " the most affordable student loan plan ever " -the
Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan-and kicked off an outreach
campaign to encourage eligible borrowers to sign up for it.
The Biden-Harris Administration is seeking to overhaul student
loan repayment plans by reducing the amount owed each month and
curbing unpaid interest to make payments more affordable in the wake
of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision announced in June to block its
controversial student loan forgiveness plan.
Per the White House Fact Sheet, the SAVE plan is an income-driven
repayment (IDR) plan that calculates payments based on a borrower's
income and family size-not their loan balance-and forgives remaining
balances after a certain number of years. The SAVE plan will cut many
borrowers' monthly payments to zero, will save other borrowers around
$1,000 per year, will prevent balances from growing because of unpaid
interest, and will get more borrowers closer to forgiveness faster.
The Biden-Harris Administration estimates that over 20 million
borrowers could benefit from the SAVE plan, which they can sign up for
at StudentAid.gov/SAVE.
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401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2023

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