The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States has recently accepted an application for a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund from asset manager ProShares, following the approval of eight similar investment vehicles a few weeks earlier.
On June 10, the SEC announced that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca had submitted a proposal for a rule change that would allow the listing and trading of shares of the ProShares Ethereum ETF. The commission opened the floor for public comments on the ETF application for a period of 21 days after its publication in the Federal Register. This timeline gives the SEC 45 days to make a decision on whether to approve, disapprove, or extend the review process.
Earlier on May 23, the SEC granted approval for 19b-4 filings from eight asset management firms seeking to list and trade spot Ether ETFs on U.S. exchanges for the first time. However, the final approval is pending as the SEC still needs to review and sign off on S-1 registration statements for the spot Ether ETFs before they can officially begin trading. This process may take some time, but experts believe it could be completed by July.
ETF analyst James Seyffart expressed uncertainty about the launch of the ProShares ETF, speculating that it may not debut alongside the other ETFs. ProShares was one of the first asset managers to receive approval from the SEC to list and trade shares of a spot investment vehicle linked to ETH futures back in October 2023. The company also offers a Bitcoin Strategy ETF on NYSE Arca with the ticker BITO.
It remains to be seen whether the SEC will approve ProShares’ spot Ether ETF offering following the initial acceptance of the application. The filing simply indicates that the commission will review the application before making a decision.
In a related development, the SEC is facing a tough legal battle against the cryptocurrency industry, likened to the fierce battle between Godzilla and Kong.