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SEC Chairman ‘predicts’ some Ether Spot ETF approvals over the summer
Key Takeaways
- SEC Chairman Gensler said he anticipates approvals for some spot ether ETFs throughout the summer.
- The SEC approved the listing of such products by exchanges last month and individual issuers are now working through the registration and disclosure process with the regulator.
- Gensler will not call ether a commodity just yet, although progress in approving spot ether ETFs is seen as a reversal in the SEC’s position.
Point ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could soon be a reality.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday that he “anticipates” SEC approvals for some ETF applications over the summer, after his regulator last month approved the general listing of such products through the bags.
Despite Gensler’s comments, ether was down 2.8% as of 1:36 pm ET on Thursday amid general weakness in cryptocurrency markets.
When will Ether ETFs be approved
Although ether ETFs, as products that can be listed on exchanges were released by the SEC Last month, Gensler explained that the next step is for each individual issuer to get its registration statement, or S-1, approved.
“Individual issuers are still working through the registration process which is working smoothly,” Gensler said, adding that approvals could occur once the required registration and disclosure process is completed.
“I would envision it sometime during the summer,” he said.
A previous report from Galaxy Digital also indicated an expectation of spot ether ETF approvals until the end of August.
Ether has been at the center of an apparent crypto regulatory rollback at the SEC in recent weeks, as the approval for listing of spot ether ETFs on US exchanges came as a surprise.
Gensler has not yet said whether Ether is a commodity
During the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the 2025 budgets for the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Gensler and CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam were questioned by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R- Tennessee) if ether, the underlying cryptocurrency of Ethereum network, is a commodity.
Behnam reiterated the The CFTC’s Position That Ether Is a Commodity, but Gensler did not directly answer the question. Instead, he talked about the SEC’s approval of spot ether ETFs and how that process is moving forward.