Though many doubted their odds, Grayscale has defeated the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in court, bringing the U.S. market one step closer to approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF.

Going into its lawsuit, certain legal and market experts saw Grayscale’s victory as quite likely: Here are just a few of them

Why Grayscale’s Victory Was Assured

Back in June, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Legal Analyst Elliot Z. Stein afforded Grayscale a 70% chance of winning its lawsuit against the SEC.

“The SEC and Chair Gary Gensler may be bracing for a loss and looking to preemptively soften it or make it meaningless by approving spot Bitcoin ETF application before or around the same time as a court decision,” the analyst wrote in a research note at the time.

Grayscale’s lawsuit specifically accused the SEC of arbitrary and capricious treatment of its filing to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin fund into a spot ETF. Grayscale claimed that the agency’s approval of “similar” Bitcoin futures ETFs was proof of a double standard.

During oral arguments in March, judges overseeing the case appeared to agree with Grayscale, pressing the SEC for having no decent explanation for why Grayscale was wrong. After the relevant hearings, Stein boosted Grayscale’s victory odds from 40% to 70%.

Bloomberg’s ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balcunas also sided with Stein on the matter. Since at least June, they’ve maintained that a Grayscale court victory is the most likely course to spot ETF approval this year, despite BlackRock’s entry into the market.

Another Right Call For Deaton

Crypto Lawyer John Deaton – who represented thousands of XRP investors during Ripple’s lawsuit against the SEC – predicted Grayscale’s court victory as early as February, before oral arguments even took place.

I predict a win for @Grayscale.