SEC Related Exchanges to Update Spot Ether ETF Applications: Report
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly reached out to major US exchanges to list and trade their applications to Ether (ETH) from asset managers.
According to a May 21 Reuters report, SEC officials have contacted Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to update and amend existing spot ether ETF applications before the regulatory deadline. On May 23, the commission must decide whether to approve or deny VanEck's spot Ether ETF after delaying the process for 240 days.
Asking US exchanges to make such changes may signal regulatory approval. On May 20, two ETF analysts raised their suspicions that the SEC raised the price of an ether-linked spot ETF from 25% to 75% after “hearsay chatter” that filers should expect expedited 19b-4 filings. Before any Ether ETF can be listed, the exchanges must file 19b-4s and S-1 registration statements with the SEC.
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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 previously amended its S-1 filing to indicate that the ether associated with the investment vehicle will not be included in the stock, which may be necessary to approve such a requirement.
SEC filings, public statements from Chairman Gary Gensler and earlier investigative reports suggest the commission may be preparing to block Ether ETF applications, which was still a possibility at the time of publication. The commission began approving investment vehicles linked to ETH futures in October 2023 and Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in January.
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