Issuers of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are poised to receive final regulatory approval imminently, an industry source told CoinTelegraph.
This approval could pave the way for these ETFs to start listing as soon as next week.
Spot ETF issuers anticipate receiving final comments from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by early next week, possibly as soon as July 12, as per the anonymous source. Several issuers, including VanEck and 21Shares, have filed amended registrations this week in hopes of securing the SEC’s final signoff to list spot Ether ETFs. In total, eight spot issuers are awaiting regulatory approval.
Analysts predict that ETH ETFs could attract billions of dollars in inflows in the months following their listing, which could fuel the appreciation of Ether’s spot price. Crypto analyst Mark Dunleavy noted that ETH is “less available on exchanges, meaning thinner order books and less to purchase,” making its spot price more responsive to buying demand from ETFs than Bitcoin’s.
Crypto-native hedge funds, which have self-custodied billions of dollars worth of spot ETH for years, are now reaching out to institutional market makers like Virtu Financial to swap those holdings for ETF shares, according to the source. Upward of a dozen crypto-native funds, each with total assets under management exceeding $1 billion, have shown interest in such exchanges.
Once listed, the spot ETH ETFs will join an existing slate of publicly traded crypto funds, including nearly a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs that began trading after receiving regulatory clearance in January. Currently, more than $50 billion worth of BTC is held by ETFs. Dunleavy predicts that ETH ETFs could attract up to $10 billion in inflows in the coming months. Spot Solana ETFs may also join the market, with at least two potentially beginning trading early next year.
Earlier in May, the SEC requested updates to 19b-4 filings for spot ether ETFs ahead of deadlines, indicating progress toward approval. Following this request, Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas increased their estimated chances of SEC approval from 25% to 75%.
However, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck questioned the rumors around SEC’s approval, pointing to the regulator’s delays and reluctance. Similarly, asset manager Grayscale withdrew its application for an Ether futures ETF, and its CEO Michael Sonnenshein resigned on May 20.