The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund application from asset manager ProShares roughly three weeks after approving eight of the investment vehicles.
In a June 10 filing, the SEC said the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca had proposed a rule change allowing it to list and trade shares of the ProShares Ethereum ETF. The commission said it was soliciting public comments on the ETF application for 21 days after publication in the Federal Register, giving the SEC 45 days to approve, disapprove, or extend the timeline for its decision.
On May 23, the SEC officially approved 19b-4 filings from eight asset management firms that applied to list and trade spot Ether ETFs on U.S. exchanges for the first time. Final approval requires the SEC to sign off on S-1 registration statements for the spot Ether ETFs before they can officially begin trading — a process that could take months, but some experts expect to go through sometime in July.
“Instinct initially says [the ProShares ETF] won’t launch on day 1 with the other ETFs whenever that is but who knows,” said ETF analyst James Seyffart in a June 10 X post. “This is interesting.”
Related: Why Ethereum ETF day one inflow won’t be like Bitcoin — Fireblocks MD
In October 2023, ProShares was one of the first asset managers to get approval from the SEC to list and trade shares of a spot investment vehicle tied to ETH futures. The company also offers a Bitcoin Strategy ETF on NYSE Arca under the ticker BITO.
It’s unclear whether the SEC will give the green light to ProShares’ spot Ether ETF offering after its initial approval. The filing only suggested the commission would consider the application.
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