Ethereum
Ethereum ETFs Will Win SEC Green Light This Summer, Says Chairman Gary Gensler – DL News
- SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said Ethereum spot ETFs would be approved over the summer.
- The SEC has already given the green light to a crucial batch of documents.
- Chances of ETF launches on July 4 have dropped on Polymarket.
Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds are expected to launch this summer.
That’s what Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler told U.S. senators today during a hearing on the agency’s 2025 funding request.
“I would consider sometime during this summer,” Gensler said.
The SEC has already greenlit a batch of documents needed to launch Ethereum ETFs, called 19b-4s, but still needs to get a second set of documents, called S-1s, finalized from potential ETF issuers.
Only once both sets of documents are completed can the SEC officially approve the ETFs – and then launch the products.
“Individual issuers are still working through the registration process,” Gensler said. “That works well.”
Ether did not react to the news. The second largest cryptocurrency by value is down 4.4% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $3,450.
Market expectations
On betting platform Polymarket, the odds of ETFs starting trading on July 4 fell by 15% following Gensler’s comments.
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Punters now estimate there is a 29% chance the products will launch on Independence Day.
And two weeks ago, Eric Balchunas, analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence ETF said that there was a “legitimate possibility” that the ETFs could launch by the end of June, although he gave July 4 a higher chance.
Approval Process
The Ethereum ETF approval process differs significantly from the Bitcoin ETF approval process.
The SEC began communicating early with potential Bitcoin ETF issuers to simultaneously finalize 19b-4 and S-1 filings. The agency then officially approved the funds on January 10, and they were launched the following day.
In the case of the Ethereum ETF, however, potential issuers got only radio silence from the SEC as the crucial May 23 deadline for 19b-4s drew closer, leading analysts to believe ETFs would be rejected.
However, on May 20, the SEC started frantically communicate with ETF issuers to get their 19b-4 filings in order before the deadline.
The SEC Change was likely politically motivated, said Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital CNBC at the time.
But because the agency’s change of heart was so unexpected, its Corporate Finance division, which handles S-1 filings for potential ETFs, was likely caught off guard. So the S-1 process, which took four months for Bitcoin ETFs, may have only started three weeks ago.
However, the paperwork is not expected to take as long for Ethereum ETFs, as many of the issues with offering spot crypto ETFs have already been resolved when the SEC went after Bitcoin ETFs.
Nine different ETFs – issued by BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Grayscale Investments, VanEck, Invesco and Galaxy Digital, ARK Invest and 21 Shares, Hashdex, Franklin Templeton and Bitwise – will likely launch.
Tom Carreras and Jo Wright write about markets and regulation for DL News. Do you have a tip on Ethereum ETFs? Contact us at tcarreras@dlnews.com or joanna@dlnews.com