SEC Urges Ethereum ETF Issuers to Act Fast
Key facts:
-
Ethereum ETFs cannot yet be traded on stock markets.
-
ETF specialist Eric Balchunas believes ETFs will go public in July.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urged companies applying for spot ETFs of ether (ETH), Ethereum’s cryptocurrency, to expedite the process of submitting S-1 forms.
Last week the regulator approved the 19b-4 forms submitted by the companies involved, but S-1s are what would allow ETFs to be listed on the stock market.
These documents contain detailed information about the applicant company, its finances, management, business plans and the share offering, including the number of shares offered, the offering price and the use of the funds raised.
The SEC appears to want to expedite the final approval of ETFs, as sources related to the industry reported to the press.
Some companies such as BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world and applicant for one of the ether ETFs, have already submitted the form.
The document indicated that its ETF will be called iShares Ethereum Trust and will trade under the ticker “ETHA”. In addition, it is specified that you will not have exposure to staking.
“This is almost certainly the commitment we were looking for in the S-1s following the 19b-4 approvals,” said ETF specialist James Seyffart. Furthermore, he expressed that this shows that issuers and the SEC are working to make timely launches of Ethereum ETFs.
VanEck, another company that has an approved ETF, also submitted the form. Yesterday, May 30, Grayscale filed an updated version of its application, using Form S-3. This form is used by companies that are already registered with the SEC for subsequent stock offerings, such as secondary placements, rights offerings, and dividend reinvestment plans.
After the companies submit the forms, the SEC will likely issue comments, resulting in further amendments to the document.
ETFs could launch in July
Eric Balchunas, ETF specialist at Bloomberg Intelligence, commented that the companies’ submission of the forms is a “good sign,” since the approval processes could soon be completed.
After rounds of feedback between the SEC and the companies, Balchunas predicts that The funds could be launched at the end of June, but the key date is tipped to be July 4.
In contrast, a rumor based on these movements that are being seen indicates that The SEC would be accelerating the process of ether ETFs to launch them next week, according to the influencer and bitcoiner whose pseudonym is MartyParty. The reasons, he assures, are influenced by political factors, among others.
In addition to the aforementioned companies, Ark21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Franklin Templeton, Bitwise and Fidelity also appear with approved funds, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
Two days ago, the Brazilian company Hashdex withdrew its ETF application, which reduced the total number of companies that could issue financial products to seven in the coming months.
