Speculation is growing about the potential approval of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States on May 23. In preparation for this, global investment manager VanEck’s ETF has been listed by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) under the ticker symbol “ETHV.”
The DTCC is an American financial market infrastructure provider that offers clearing, settlement, and transaction reporting services to financial market players. Being listed on the DTCC is an important step before final approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Currently, VanEck’s ETF is listed as inactive on the DTCC website, which means it cannot be processed until it receives the necessary regulatory approvals. However, VanEck is not the first Ether (ETH) ETF to be listed by the DTCC. Franklin Templeton’s spot ETH ETF was listed on the platform a month ago.
The DTCC explains that the ETF list includes both active ETFs that may be processed by the DTCC and ETFs that are not yet active and cannot be processed.
There are reports suggesting that SEC officials have reached out to Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange to update and modify existing spot Ether ETF applications.
This change in the SEC’s stance over the past week is believed to be influenced by the White House. Crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky suggests that policy is driven by politics, and crypto has been gaining political support for months. He also speculates that former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of cryptocurrency has compelled the Biden administration to shift its policy.
The SEC has until May 23 to make a decision on the VanEck spot Ether ETF application. After months of speculation about a possible denial of spot ETH ETFs, the SEC has taken action earlier this week by requesting financial managers to amend and refile their 19b-4 filings on their proposed spot Ether ETFs. Some analysts see this as a positive sign, increasing the potential chance of approval to 75% from 25%.