SEC Officially Approves 8 Ethereum Spot ETFs

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All eight Ethereum ETFs receive approval

The SEC’s approval of the Ethereum ETFs is outlined in their official filing, which states that the proposals comply with the regulations of the Exchange Act and related rules governing national securities exchanges. The Commission determined that the proposals from BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Ark Invest, 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton meet the requirements of Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which mandates the prevention of fraud and manipulation, the protection of investors, and the safeguarding of public interest.

The Commission’s decision to approve the proposals ahead of the 30-day notice period was supported by recent amendments to the filings by the exchanges made earlier this week. This swift approval signifies the Commission’s acceptance of the representations and descriptions provided by the exchanges in their amended filings.

A Potential Shift in Cryptocurrency Regulation?

Based on the correlation analysis conducted by the Commission, the regulatory body concluded that the proposals meet the requirements of the Exchange Act, specifically Section 6(b)(5) and Section 11A(a)(1)(C)(iii).

Notably, the SEC’s decision to approve the Ethereum ETFs not only enhances exposure and investment opportunities for institutional and retail investors in Ethereum but also potentially influences the regulatory stance on classifying Ethereum as a commodity. This classification played a crucial role in the approval of Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.

It’s worth mentioning that SEC Chair Gary Gensler has previously stated that, besides Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies could be considered commodities under the Howey test. However, experts argue that this outdated framework needs revision to effectively regulate cryptocurrencies.