Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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VanEck and CoinShares CEOs are not confident that the SEC will approve spot Ether ETFs.
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The regulator has so far postponed decisions on several spot Ether ETF applications.
SEC Might Reject Spot Ether ETF Applications
Issuers of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are not confident that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot Ether ETF applications. This is according to a CNBC report on Tuesday.
While speaking to CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal at the Paris Blockchain Week crypto event in France, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck said,
“We were the first to file as well for ethereum in the U.S., and we and [Ark Invest CEO] Cathy Wood, are kind of the first in line for May, I guess, to probably be rejected. The way the legal process goes is the regulators will give you comments on your application, and that happened for weeks and weeks before the bitcoin ETFs — and right now, pins are dropping as far as ethereum is concerned ”
BlackRock, VanEck and Fidelity have all filed to list spot Ether ETFs. However, the SEC postponed its decisions on the applications last month and now has a May deadline to conclude its review.
The SEC has also pointed out on several occasions that it might not approve a spot Ether ETF soon. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has previously stated that most cryptocurrencies are investment contracts and thus subject to federal securities laws.
CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti is also pessimistic about the chances of a spot Ether ETF. He told CNBC that,
“We are observing the ethereum decision very, very closely. CoinShares was not in the race for the bitcoin ETF until three months before the approval, and we managed to qualify ourselves at the last minute. I don’t see anything being approved this side of the year.”
Ether is down by 4% in the last 24 hours and is currently trading at $3,533 per coin.
