The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sought public opinions on the applications for Ethereum spot ETFs from Fidelity, Grayscale, and Bitwise, increasing market expectations for the approval of these ETFs in May. However, James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, pointed out that the SEC’s public solicitation of opinions is just a standard procedure in the review process.
SEC Seeks Public Opinions on Ethereum Spot ETFs
Bloomberg Analyst: This is a Standard Process
Consensys Advocates Approval in a Letter to the SEC
The market is closely watching whether the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve Ethereum spot ETFs before May, as a potential catalyst for Ethereum. Currently, there are nine applications for Ethereum spot ETFs, with the latest one submitted by Bitwise on March 28. VanEck, which faces the earliest deadline for final approval, needs the SEC to decide whether to approve its application by May 23.
Ethereum
Spot
ETF
Public Opinion Solicitation
The SEC has not actively negotiated with issuers, which has lowered market expectations for the approval of these products in May. However, there seems to be a turning point. According to a notice released on April 2, the SEC is publicly seeking opinions on rule changes proposed by three asset management companies, Bitwise, Fidelity, and Grayscale, to allow the listing and trading of their Ethereum spot ETFs on major exchanges.
The public has 21 days to respond after the publication of these proposals in the Federal Register. Bitwise and Grayscale are requesting listing and trading on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, while Fidelity has chosen the Cboe BZX exchange.
Some community members believe this is a signal that the SEC is actively promoting Ethereum spot ETFs, increasing the possibility of approval in May. However, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated today on X that when the SEC publicly solicited public opinions on Fidelity’s Ethereum spot ETF on the 3rd, he did not see any signs of a change in the situation from these documents. The SEC’s silence is not a good sign.
In fact, on March 8, the SEC sought public opinions on the potential approval of Ethereum ETF applications, asking whether there are fraud and manipulation risks that the institution needs to consider in the transition of Ethereum to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism.
In response, Consensys, the developer of the Metamask wallet, submitted a comment letter on the 29th, stating that such concerns are completely unfounded and arguing that the Ethereum PoS mechanism even surpasses Bitcoin’s PoW mechanism in terms of security. Since Bitcoin-based ETFs have already been approved by the SEC for listing and trading, Consensys advocates that Ethereum spot ETFs should also be approved.
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