In the midst of mounting excitement over the potential approval of a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, House lawmakers are urging the securities regulator to grant approval for the new product.
On May 22, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers, including Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Democrat Josh Gottheimer, penned a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, requesting the approval of spot Ether (ETH) ETFs. The lawmakers argued that such an ETF would provide investors with a safer and more regulated means of accessing ETH.
In the letter, the lawmakers also called on the Commission to maintain a consistent and fair approach when reviewing future applications for ETFs backed by other digital assets. While the letter did not specify any digital assets other than Ether, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted this mention of “other digital assets” in a tweet on May 23. Balchunas speculated on the possibility of the ETF industry pushing boundaries by filing applications for various coins to test the limits of the SEC.
The news arrives as the cryptocurrency community eagerly awaits the SEC’s decision on the potential approval of an Ether ETF by the end of this month. The community’s optimism has grown as U.S. lawmakers continue to pressure the SEC to give the green light to a spot ETH ETF.
In another development on May 22, a separate group of lawmakers, including chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Patrick McHenry and subcommittee head Bill Huizenga, demanded that the SEC provide records related to the custody services provider Prometheum. The lawmakers also expressed dissatisfaction with the SEC’s response to a previous inquiry regarding Ether’s classification as a security rather than a commodity.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Hong Kong regulators are considering allowing staking for spot Ether ETFs, which began trading on April 30, 2024, alongside spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. In contrast, the U.S. introduced spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 but has yet to approve a spot Ether ETF.
In the face of crypto’s legal firepower, the SEC finds itself in a fierce battle akin to Godzilla vs. Kong.