U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took an unexpected step in the ongoing approval process by returning S-1 forms to spot Ethereum ETF issuers. According to a source from one of the issuers who spoke to The Block, these forms were sent back with a request for minor changes, and issuers were asked to address the identified issues and resubmit the updated forms. This situation suggests that there may be delays on the path to final approval for spot Ethereum ETFs and that at least one more round of filings will be required before the ETFs can begin trading.
Approval of Spot Ethereum ETFs May Be Delayed
As is known, S-1 forms are a crucial part of the two-stage process that ETFs must go through before becoming operational. The first step towards the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs was the approval of the issuers’ 19b-4 forms in May, which the SEC granted according to an initially set deadline. However, since there is no specific deadline for the fate of the S-1 forms, issuers are dependent on the SEC’s response time.
Although there have been many developments suggesting that spot Ethereum ETFs could begin trading by July 4th, this timeline is now considered unrealistic.
Issuers are currently facing uncertainty about when the ETFs will begin trading. While the SEC’s feedback on the S-1 forms and the subsequent resubmission process will clarify the situation, the U.S. regulator has not yet set a final deadline for these applications. Although the minor changes requested by the SEC indicate that there are no major issues, it shows that changes need to be made to the S-1 forms to achieve the expected compliance.
SEC Chairman Gensler Indicated Summer for Approval
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently indicated that approval for spot Ethereum ETFs could come this summer but avoided giving a specific date, leaving issuers and investors in anticipation. The current approval process and the need for multiple rounds of filings demonstrate that the process followed for launching such financial products is extremely complex.
While the return of the S-1 forms by the SEC with a request for specific changes represents progress, it reflects that the approval process is not yet complete and could potentially be extended, which could negatively impact the cryptocurrency market, especially the altcoin king ETH.
