- U.S. SEC approved eight 19b-4 forms for spot Ethereum ETFs, which include offerings from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale.
- Spot ether ETFs may not be available for trading immediately, as S-1 registration statements need to be effective.
Undoubtedly, Ethereum enjoys immense love from decentralized maximalists. But it seems that when it comes to cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has the upper hand.
In January this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs, propelling Bitcoin to new all-time highs (ATH) and strong market performance.
In contrast, Ethereum has not seen the same level of excitement. The SEC has repeatedly postponed decisions on spot Ethereum ETF applications, such as those from Hashdex and Ark 21Shares, with the final verdict now expected in late May.
In fact, the CEO of VanEck, Jan van Eck also believed that it's unlikely for ether ETFs to receive approval by their May deadline.
However, despite the negative takes, the SEC approved the listing of eight spot ether ETFs on their respective exchanges on May 23. Meaning, the 19b-4 forms for ether ETFs were approved, which include offerings from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale.
But it might take some time before these products are available for trading. To begin trading, their S-1 registration statements must become effective.
When spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved, the S-1 forms were prepared before the 19b-4 approvals, leading to their quick effectiveness and trading commencement the next day.
A user on X (formerly Twitter) who goes by the name “_gabrielShapir0” shared “why ETH isn’t mooning”.
alpha on why ETH isn't mooning:
— _gabrielShapir0 (@lex_node) May 23, 2024
-->only 19b-4s approved, not S-1s
-->approval was by division of trading/markets on 'delegated authority'
-->means a commissioner can challenge in next 10 days (also means they are trying to hide the vote b/c it's political)
what's really going…
Zach Rynes, a crypto commentator and Chainlink's community liaison, also shared his take on the event. He suggests that the absence of activity indicates that those interested in purchasing the approval have already done so.
The real answer why $ETH didn’t move upon ETF approval
— Zach Rynes | CLG (@ChainLinkGod) May 23, 2024
- Since the SEC’s pivot, everyone who wanted to buy the approval, already did
- ETFs haven’t actually launched yet, so net new capital inflow still to come
No need to overcomplicate things, just spot and chill https://t.co/BPAGSjq5og
A recent report suggests that the newly-approved spot ether ETFs might debut as soon as mid-June. This timeline aligns with the process seen for spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Bloomberg's ETF analyst, James Seyffart, also predicts S-1 approvals could arrive in a "couple of weeks," but acknowledges they might take longer, often up to five months.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
