SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said regulators expect to approve the spot Ethereum ETF application’s S-1 registration form “sometime this summer,” which would be the final step before the fund launches in the United States. .
Gensler confirmed that the ETF could launch by the end of the summer, well before the November presidential election.
The watchdog recently approved a related 19b-4 application filed by the stock exchange in May. However, approval of individual issuers’ S-1 registration forms is still pending.
Gensler said at a June 13 Senate hearing:
“Individual issuers are still going through the registration process. “It’s going smoothly.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty praised Gensler, who promised the application would be approved by the end of the summer. He added:
“We have to secure this market.”
Release schedule, product classification
Gensler’s timeline is consistent with what industry experts have predicted in recent weeks.
Bloomberg ETF analysts have suggested that S-1 document approval could take “weeks” to “months” after 19b-4 approval. Likewise, others, including JP Morgan, have predicted that the ETF will begin trading before the November election.
At this point, the introduction of a spot Ethereum ETF in the U.S. appears inevitable, even though S-1 approval is pending. Moreover, Ethereum is now considered a commodity by many in the industry, including legal experts, who argue that the SEC’s approval of Ethereum as a single-asset ETF product means that Ethereum is classified as a commodity.
However, under questioning from the Senate, Gensler did not clarify whether Ethereum is classified as a security or a commodity. He dodged the question and did not give a clear answer, claiming the agency only “partially” approved the Ethereum ETF.
Meanwhile, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam has made it very clear on the Senate floor that Ethereum is a commodity and should be subject to his agency’s oversight.
Budgeting concerns
Gensler also addressed the SEC’s fiscal year 2025 budget request, highlighting significant growth and change in the market. He said:
“Our limited resources contrast with the tremendous growth and change in the market.”
He added that the SEC currently oversees about 40,000 companies, including more than 13,000 registered funds, 15,400 investment advisers and 3,300 broker-dealers.
Gensler expressed concern about a provision in the House Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2025 funding bill that would limit funds from being used for enforcement actions related to digital asset trading, except for fraud or market manipulation.
Gensler said:
“It would seriously undermine our efforts. Not all cryptocurrencies are cryptocurrency securities… It is a cryptocurrency that has an obligation to disclose full, fair, and complete information to the public.”
The SEC Chairman emphasized the SEC’s important role in maintaining market integrity and protecting investors. He also emphasized the importance of adequate financing to keep pace with rapidly evolving markets and technological advancements.
He told the Senate:
“The SEC is the police that watches over the investing public and issuers.”