Gary Gensler, the Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has hinted at a potential delay in the final approvals for asset managers looking to offer spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on exchanges.
During an interview with CNBC on June 5, Gensler mentioned that the SEC’s approval process for spot Ether (ETH) ETFs will “take some time,” indicating that the commission may be slow in signing off on S-1 registration statements. While the SEC recently approved 19b-4 filings from various firms including VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, the final approvals necessary for the listing and trading of ETFs on U.S. exchanges could be months away.
Gensler also noted in the interview that cryptocurrency firms were engaging in activities that traditional exchanges were not allowed to do under current laws. This suggests that the commission’s stance on enforcement actions is unlikely to change under his leadership. The SEC has been involved in legal battles with companies like Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. Additionally, a regional office of the SEC was shut down after a judge in Utah ordered the commission to pay $1.8 million due to “bad faith conduct” in court.
Despite the potential delay in spot Ether ETF approvals, the SEC has already taken steps towards eventually listing shares on exchanges. The recent approvals for spot Ether ETFs come after the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF applications, a first for the industry. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas had previously predicted a launch date of July 4 for spot Ether ETFs.
Unlike spot Bitcoin ETFs, spot Ether ETFs were not approved by a vote from the five commissioners, but instead by the SEC’s Trading and Markets Division. Gensler is expected to continue serving as SEC chair until 2026. Although SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw’s term officially ended on June 5, it is unclear whether U.S. President Joe Biden will nominate a replacement for her or allow her to remain in the position.
In other news, there are expectations for Ether ETFs to launch in June, and CZ has stepped down from Binance France. These developments and more can be found in the latest edition of Hodler’s Digest from May 26 to June 1.