US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler announced that final approvals for Ethereum exchange-traded funds (Ether ETFs) are expected to occur by the end of the summer in the US, around the month of September. He made the statement during a budget hearing in the Senate this Thursday (13).
Gensler told a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee that the ETF approval process is “working well” after the initial approval of a group of such funds. The SEC has already granted the initial round of requests, and final filings known as S-1s are being handled at the agency’s staff level.
Once the SEC approves the registrations, the new ETFs can be listed. This will allow for greater accessibility to funds that hold real Ether. This initiative follows the precedent of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which also went through a rigorous process before being approved.
Ether ETFs are coming soon
During the hearing, Gensler was questioned about whether or not Ethereum is a commodity. Avoiding a direct answer, he maintained the SEC’s uncertain position on the asset. In contrast, Rostin Behnam, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has categorically stated that Ethereum is a commodity.
This distinction is crucial in determining which regulatory body has authority over different tokens. This is because the SEC supervises tokens considered securities. Meanwhile, the CFTC regulates other products.
Gensler reiterated that while not all cryptocurrencies are securities, those that are have an obligation to disclose information to the public. Additionally, he criticized the industry for flouting securities rules.
Behnam acknowledged that the CFTC does not yet have all the necessary authorities to properly regulate cryptocurrency markets. He further highlighted the lack of traditional regulatory tools such as registration, custody and supervision.
The announcement about the future approval of Ether ETFs, however, did not prevent the price of ETH from retreating. According to data from CoinGecko, in the last 24 hours, the price of the second largest cryptocurrency on the market fell more than 4% to US$3,463.
