In a recent filing, the US SEC stated that it is still considering whether these Ethereum ETFs should be listed.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it is delaying decisions on several Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until May 2024. The SEC postponed its decision on Hashdex, according to a Dec. 18 regulatory filing. Nasdaq Ethereum ETF and Grayscale Ethereum Futures ETF.
The Hashdex Ether ETF requires holding both spot Ether and futures contracts. Likewise, Grayscale’s Ethereum Futures ETF is a strategic move to potentially facilitate the conversion of Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust into a spot Ethereum ETF, often referred to as a “Trojan Horse.”
In the filing, the SEC said it is beginning a process to gather additional public comments on whether the ETF should be listed. The regulator also extended the decision timeline for the VanEck spot Ethereum ETF and the spot Ethereum ETF proposed by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and 21Shares.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart confirmed that a decision on the Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is expected to be delayed. These delays will likely occur before December 25th. Seyffart noted that the SEC’s deadline for a final decision on these ETFs is likely to be late May. It is worth noting that despite previously approving an Ethereum futures ETF, the SEC has yet to give approval for a spot or hybrid product.
Focus on Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Currently, market attention is focused on the SEC’s possible approval of 13 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. Analysts including Bloomberg’s James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas give a roughly 90% favorable outlook for approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, with the SEC possibly making a decision as early as January 10.
The institutional accessibility of Bitcoin has fueled market optimism and contributed to Bitcoin’s impressive 44% growth over the past six months. Meanwhile, Ethereum experienced a slight rise of 16.8% over the same period, according to TradingView data.
Recently, ARK Invest and 21Shares jointly filed an S-1 Amendment with the U.S. SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF, incorporating the SEC’s “cash generation” redemption mechanism for the proposed product. This strategic move is considered positive for the development of the BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF and represents a notable development in the dynamic landscape of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products. In line with this trend, WisdomTree has updated its Bitcoin ETF application by filing an S-1 Amendment.
Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market are experiencing considerable volatility, with the price of BTC surging 5.5% to surpass the $43,000 level. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin contributed more than $50 billion to the market capitalization.
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