Analysts have discovered details from a March filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that suggest the regulator may consider classifying Ethereum (ETH) as a security.
In a May 13 post, Davis Polk and Wardwell assistant Scott Johnson It has been reviewed A March 4 filing from BlackRock regarding its application to list and trade an Ethereum Spot ETF on the Nasdaq. The filing delayed the committee’s deadline for a decision on BlackRock’s spot ETF until June, but also invited public comment on whether the investment vehicle could be offered as a commodity.
“The obvious purpose is potential deniability on the basis that these spot deposits were improperly presented as commodity-based credit shares and do not qualify if they hold a security.” He said Johnson.
According to Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, in an SEC filing He was “Buried 50 feet deep in a pile of legal papers,” but that didn’t change his speculation that the odds of a regulator signing off on an Ethereum spot ETF are “slim to none.” The SEC must decide whether to approve or reject VanEck’s Ether ETF by May 23 — the first of many pending applications.
Related: Traders rush to sell Ethereum as Grayscale pulls futures ETF plan
If the SEC denies VanEck’s request, the SEC may reject the Ether ETFs from ARK 21Shares, Hashdex, Invesco Galaxy, BlackRock, and Fidelity. Grayscale withdrew its spot order for the Ether ETF on May 7 without explanation. VanEck CEO Jan Van Eck reportedly questioned the SEC’s approval of his company’s bid in May.
Central to the SEC’s decision is whether the Commission considers ETH a security or a commodity. Despite several previous public statements by Chairman Gary Gensler declaring that Ethereum is not a security, reports indicate that the Commission has launched an investigation into Ethereum. Gensler will speak at the Investment Firm Institute Summit in Washington, D.C., on May 23.
magazine: SEC, Ripple case comes to a close, Grayscale withdraws ETF filing, and more: Hodler’s Digest, May 5-11
