Gary Gensler, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), told Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) that the agency expects approving S-1 forms for spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) “sometime over the course of this summer.”
Thursday hearings on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services Following the greenlight of their individual rule amendments, the SEC earlier shocked many by allowing the listing and trading of eight Ether ETFs (19b-4 forms).
SEC Navigates Ethereum ETF Approval
Still, this approval process consists in two phases. Before Ethereum ETFs can start trading, they have to pass another obstacle: the SEC’s clearance of S-1 registration forms, which contain comprehensive details on the instruments meant for public selling.
Late in May saw the SEC asking prospective issuers revised S-1 forms. “Would be curious to see modifications in the upcoming revised S-1 batch. *That* much work remains to be done,” said ETF researcher Nate Geraci.
Respected Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said he was confident Ethereum ETFs would start this summer. “July was and is a total conjecture. I was more sure, though, that ETH ETFs would open some time this summer. That was rather obvious,” Seyffart said on a social media forum.
According to JPMorgan’s estimate, compared to Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs would probably draw small volumes. Bitcoin ETFs have had $100 million in inflows meanwhile, mostly from Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).
