SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said the timeline for the spot launch of Ethereum ETF depends on how quickly applicants respond to the regulator’s questions and comment on the reasons for approvals.
Gensler told Reuters on June 5 that the companies are “self-motivated” to respond to SEC comments and can determine their responsiveness.
Previous reports indicate that the SEC will comment on recently amended S-1 filings from eight Ethereum ETF issuers. Applicants will then submit further changes before launching each product.
Gensler did not say whether the process would take weeks or months.
Shades of gray influenced the ETH stance
The SEC chairman said Grayscale’s legal victory, which paved the way for spot Bitcoin ETF approvals, had also influenced the SEC’s position on spot ETH products.
Grayscale advocated approving Bitcoin ETFs based on correlations between Bitcoin spot and futures markets, just as the SEC approved Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs in previous years.
Gensler previously said the legal outcome led to the SEC approving spot Bitcoin ETFs in January. He only recently linked the outcome to the SEC’s position on ETH.
Gensler told Reuters that market correlations were key to the SEC’s approval of the latest spot Ethereum ETFs. He said:
“[SEC staff] looking at these (ether) deposits… the correlations are relatively similar to the correlations in the bitcoin space.”
Gensler spoke to CNBC
Gensler made similar comments in a CNBC interview on June 5, saying the spot ETH ETF launch “could take some time.” He did not speculate on a launch date.
Gensler also told CNBC that the SEC in its latest decision compared the spot Ethereum market to the Ethereum futures market. Gensler said ETH futures ETFs have been trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) for more than three years.
Industry experts have speculated about a launch date, with Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas predicting the ETFs could launch in late June and calling July 4 an over/under date.
Polymarket, which represents community betting based on crypto amounts staked, indicates a 57% chance that the funds could start trading by July 4.
Post-SEC Chairman Gensler says Ethereum ETF’s launch timeline depends on the speed of applicants first appearing on CryptoSlate.