ETF Analysts Expect Final Approval of Spot ETH ETFs Within Weeks
Exchange-traded fund (ETF) analysts discussed the possibility of launching spot Ether (ETH) ETFs in the U.S. next month, based on the timeline of the approval of spot BTC ETFs five months ago.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the 19b-4 filings of issuers who applied to list and trade spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on May 23. However, S-1 registration statements for the spot Ether ETFs must be signed off by the commission to completely approve them for trading.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, S-1 approvals may take a “couple of weeks” or “could take longer” as the typical time the process takes is up to five months. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that “mid June is certainly poss[ible].”
Balchunas thinks the SEC will comment on the S-1 amendments only once, similar to the way they treated spot BTC ETF proposals. The process was completed around two weeks for spot BTC ETFs, so the same may be applicable to spot ETH ETFs. “Just a guess tho. We will see,” said Balchunas.
VanEck filed its amended S-1 not long after the SEC approved its 19b-4 filing. Hence, other applicants should do the same as soon as possible. According to Delphi Labs general counsel Gabriel Shapiro, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets unit approved the 19b-4 filing on a “delegated authority”, with claims that one of the five SEC Commissioners may challenge the decision soon.
Seyffart said it is the norm to make decisions with delegated authority. Following the SEC’s approval of S-1 statements, he expects the spot Ether ETFs to see 20 percent of the flows that spot BTC ETFs have recorded. Conversely, Balchunas expects between 10 – 15 percent.