The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly contacted major US exchanges to update their applications for listing and trading Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds with asset managers.
According to a Reuters report dated May 21, SEC officials contacted Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to update and modify their Ethereum ETF spot orders ahead of the regulatory deadline. On May 23, the committee is scheduled to decide whether to approve or reject VanEck’s spot ETF after delaying the process for 240 days.
Requiring U.S. exchanges to make such changes could be a sign of regulatory approval. On May 20, two ETF analysts increased the chances of the SEC approving an Ethereum-related ETF from 25% to 75% after “hearing talk” that applicants should expect their applications to be expedited under 19b-4. Exchanges must file 19b-4s and S-1 registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before listing Ethereum ETFs.
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If the SEC approves VanEck’s application, it could lead to the approval of spot ETFs offered by ARK 21Shares, BlackRock, Fidelity, Hashdex and Invesco Galaxy. Fidelity has already amended its S-1 filing to include that the ether associated with the investment vehicle will not be staked, suggesting that such a condition may be necessary for approval.
SEC filings, public statements by Chairman Gary Gensler, and investigative reports previously indicated that the Commission may be preparing to deny one-time applications for Ethereum ETFs, which was still a possibility at the time of the publication. The committee began approving investment vehicles linked to Ethereum futures in October 2023 and Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in January.
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