The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given its approval for spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on May 23, but the approval process for these ETFs differed slightly from the approval process for spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.
While spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs were approved through a voting process involving a five-member committee that included SEC chief Gary Gensler, spot Ether (ETH) ETFs were approved by the Trading and Markets Division of the SEC.
The SEC has approved the 19b-4 filings from various companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Ark, Invesco Galaxy, and Franklin Templeton. However, the SEC has declined to provide further comment beyond the official decision, as stated in the official filing.
Many members of the crypto community have expressed curiosity about the differences in the approval process between the two crypto ETFs. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has stated that this is a normal occurrence. According to Seyffart, similar approval processes are typically followed for many decisions. If the SEC were to require an official vote for every decision or document, it would be impractical. However, Seyffart also mentioned that it would have been beneficial to see where the political lines were drawn.
However, not everyone is convinced by Seyffart’s analysis. One user on X has pointed out that a commissioner could challenge the decision within the next 10 days. The main reason for the delegated authority in the approval process is believed to be to conceal the votes, as they may be seen as politically motivated.
Another user on X has attributed the SEC’s decision to several factors, including political pressure, upcoming elections, and the implementation of environmental, social, and governance rules.
Another significant difference between the approval processes of the two crypto ETFs is that all 11 BTC ETFs started trading the day after their approval, as they also received S-1 form clearance. On the other hand, spot Ether ETFs may take weeks or even months to debut on exchanges, as the ETF filers have yet to receive the S-1 SEC registration.
In conclusion, the SEC’s approval of spot Ether ETFs has marked a significant milestone for the crypto industry. However, the differences in the approval processes between spot Bitcoin and spot Ether ETFs have raised questions and speculation within the crypto community. The exact timeline for the debut of spot Ether ETFs on exchanges remains uncertain at this point.