Ethereum
Spot Ethereum ETF Trading Launch May Be Delayed, Says SEC Chairman Gary Gensler
President of the SEC Gary Gensler reported that the final approval of the spot Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may experience delays.
What happened: In a June 5 interview on CNBC, Gensler noted that the SEC’s next steps on approving these ETFs “will take some time.”
This suggests a cautious and potentially protracted approach in approving S-1 registration statements.
On May 23, the SEC approved 19b-4 filings from several large asset managers, including VanEck, black rock (NYSE:BLACK), loyalty, Shades of grey, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy And Bitwise.
Despite these approvals, the actual listing and trading of these ETFs on U.S. exchanges could still take months.
During the interview, Gensler also highlighted that cryptocurrency companies were engaging in activities not permitted for traditional exchanges, indicating that the SEC’s strict enforcement actions would continue under his leadership.
The SEC has notably taken legal action against companies such as Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP), Coinbase (NASDAQ:PIECE OF MONEY), Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) And Kraken.
However, the commission has faced its own challenges, including the court-ordered payment of $1.8 million following allegations of misconduct.
Read also: Why Bitcoin May Not Hit a New All-Time High This Month: 10x Research
Why is this important: Although the approval process for spot Ether ETFs may be slow, the SEC has taken steps toward their eventual listing.
The 19b-4 approvals for spot Ether ETFs came about five months after similar approvals for spot Bitcoin ETFs, a first for the industry.
Before Gensler’s comments, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas had predicted a July 4 launch date for spot Ether ETFs.
Unlike the Bitcoin spot ETFs, the decision to approve the Ether spot ETFs was made by the SEC’s Trading and Markets division rather than through a vote of the five commissioners.
Gensler, who is expected to chair the SEC until 2026, did not specify an exact timeline for final approvals.
And after: The regulatory landscape and its impact on digital assets will be the focus of the next Benzinga The future of digital assets event on November 19.
Read next: Potential email provider breach puts crypto companies on alert
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