Newly approved spot exchange-traded funds for Ethereum (ETH) could launch as early as mid-June – if the US securities regulator follows a similar timeline to the Bitcoin ETF process.
Spot Ether ETFs today got the green light for their 19b-4 filings, allowing the funds to be listed on their respective exchanges. However, applicants will first need approved S-1 registration data to begin trading.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyphart said S-1 approvals could come in “a few weeks,” but he also noted they “could take longer” because the process typically takes up to five month.
However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas responded that “mid-June is entirely possible.”
Balchunas expects there to be only one round of comments on the S-1 amendments, similar to how the SEC provided comments to one-time applicants for Bitcoin ETFs.
He noted that the process took about two weeks and therefore arrived at his estimate in mid-June.
“It’s just a guess. We will see, assured Balchunas.
VanEck filed its amended S-1 application shortly after the 19b-4 approval, while other applicants are expected to follow suit soon.
However, Delphi Labs general counsel Gabriel Shapiro noted that the SEC’s approval was given by its trading and markets unit on “delegated authority” – saying that one of the SEC’s five commissioners could appeal the decision within the next ten days.
Digital assets advocate Joe Karlasar told Cointelegraph that such a challenge could theoretically happen – “but it won’t.”
“They wouldn’t have pushed it through commerce and markets without knowing that no commissioner was opposed to it.”
Seyphart appears to disagree with this view, saying that making decisions with delegated authority “is the norm” because requiring a formal vote on every decision and document “would be madness.” He added that the review request “probably won’t change anything” regarding the approvals.
about: SEC ETF Ruling Means ETH and “Many” Other Tokens Are Not Securities
If the S-1 is signed, Seyvart expects Ethereum ETFs to see 20% of the inflows seen by Bitcoin ETFs, while Balchunas offered a smaller estimate, in the 10-15% range.
According to Farside Investors, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have generated $13.3 billion in net inflows since the products launched about four and a half months ago.
Getting 20% of that would still mean Ethereum ETFs would be worth a total of $2.66 billion over the same period.
Some are concerned that the Ether spot ETF market could see significant outflows from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust converted to a spot ETF model, similar to the outflows seen with the company’s converted Bitcoin investment product.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, more than $11.3 billion is locked in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust.
VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Bitwise and Invesco Galaxy were the eight applicants to receive regulatory approval on May 23.
Hashdex was the only ETF issuer that did not receive regulatory approval that day.
review: Godzilla vs. Kong: SEC Faces Uphill Battle Over Legal Power of Cryptocurrencies
