In a second landmark decision this year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has given the regulatory green light to spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.
Ina May 23 filing, the SEC approved the 19b-4 filings from VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise — approving the rule changes allowing spot Ether ETFs to be listed and traded on their respective exchanges. The landmark decision came despite speculation that the securities regulator has been investigating whether to label Ether (ETH) as a security.
While the 19b-4s have been approved, ETF issuers still need the SEC to sign off on their respective S-1 registration statements for the spot Ether ETFs to officially begin trading. Industry analysts say this could take days, weeks or even months. The SEC reportedly instructed applicants to accelerate their 19b-4 filings on May 20. The removal of staking is the most notable amendment seen across several filings.
The SEC did not announce approval of Hashdex’s spot Ether ETF application. The asset manager’s investment vehicle had a final deadline with the commission set for May 30 — ahead of Grayscale, Invesco Galaxy, BlackRock and Fidelity. It’s unclear whether the SEC will ultimately approve Hashdex’s ETF.
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The SEC approval comes a day after the United States House of Representatives members voted in favor of legislation many believe will provide more regulatory clarity to the cryptocurrency industry. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act will clarify the roles of the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but it still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed into law.
The spot Ether ETF approval comes four and a half months after the SEC approved several spot Bitcoin ETF applications on Jan. 10, marking an industry first. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the price of ETH rose to more than $3,900 immediately following the SEC announcement, then dropped to $3,759 at the time of publication.
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This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
