The future of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for spot Ether (ETH) could be determined this week by a sole vote from Gary Gensler, the chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is reminiscent of the January decision for spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs, which relied on a five-commissioner panel. Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, who are known for their support of cryptocurrencies, voted in favor of the BTC ETFs, while Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizárraga opposed them. Gensler’s vote was crucial in securing approval for the BTC ETFs. This week, the same five SEC commissioners will vote on whether to approve or deny VanEck’s spot Ether ETF on May 23. Here is a closer look at each commissioner’s stance.
Hester Peirce, also known as “Crypto Mom,” has not disclosed her position on spot Ether ETFs. However, she is known for her enthusiasm for digital assets and her desire to integrate more decentralization into the financial system. Peirce has been involved with the Ethereum community and even spoke at the ETHDenver conference in February.
Caroline Crenshaw is a vocal critic of the cryptocurrency industry and was against the spot Bitcoin ETFs. She argued that fraud and market manipulation in the broader industry would impact the price of the ETFs and that approving them would fail to protect U.S. investors. There is no indication that Crenshaw has changed her stance on spot crypto ETFs.
Mark Uyeda has criticized the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach to the cryptocurrency industry. He disagreed with the SEC’s decision to deny a petition from Coinbase and expressed concerns about how the SEC reached its decision on the BTC ETFs. Uyeda voted in favor of the BTC ETFs, but it is unclear if his “independent reasons” for doing so will apply to spot Ether ETFs.
Jaime Lizárraga voted against approving the spot Bitcoin ETFs and did not issue a statement following the decision. In a speech in 2022, he expressed skepticism about Bitcoin’s potential as an alternative to traditional finance and criticized the SEC’s enforcement approach to the cryptocurrency industry. There is no evidence to suggest that Lizárraga’s views have changed.
Gary Gensler, who voted in favor of spot Bitcoin ETFs, is speculated to have been influenced by Grayscale’s successful appeal against the SEC. It is uncertain how he will approach the current Ether ETF applications. Gensler has been accused of evading questions about whether Ether is a security. Additionally, there is an ongoing investigation into Ether’s potential status as a security led by Gurbir Grewal, the SEC Division of Enforcement Director.
There are also concerns about the SEC’s engagement with spot Ether ETFs, with some fund managers anticipating a denial from the SEC. Some experts predict a 25% chance of at least one spot Ether ETF being approved on May 23, a significant decrease from the 70% figure in January.