Asset managers are optimistic about Security and Exchange Commission approval for the first U.S. ETFs directly investing in Ethereum, possibly by mid-July.
The SEC has given ETF applicants until July 8 to submit updated paperwork and amended S-1s, with potential additional rounds of filings.
There may be an additional round of filings after the one due on July 8, reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.
Wen spot eth ETF?
BBG sticking w/ mid-July.
Amended S-1s due July 8th.
Potential final S-1s by July 12th.
Would theoretically mean launch week of July 15th.
via @emily_graffeo @olgakharif pic.twitter.com/NG8xhtCP21
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) July 3, 2024
Ethereum ETF Hopefuls
Recent SEC feedback to issuers involved minor questions, which are being addressed, the report added.
Head of asset management at Galaxy Digital, Steve Kurz, told Bloomberg that an Ether ETF could potentially be approved within the next couple of weeks.
“This is window-dressing, the SEC is engaged. We’ve been doing this for months now. We did it for the Bitcoin ETF, the products are substantially similar – we know the plumbing, we know the process.”
Major asset managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark 21Shares, and Invesco have pending filings, but many issuers have yet to disclose their fund fees, which is a necessary step before trading begins.
It is also unclear if Ethereum ETFs will generate demand similar to spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have amassed $52 billion in assets since they launched in January.
Analysts have estimated that the Ethereum ETF flows could be around 10% to 15% of Bitcoin ETF flows and that ETH prices may fall as much as 30% following their launch.
However, crypto research firm K33 Research expects Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin in July.
“ETFs are a solid catalyst for relative ETH strength as the summer progresses and flows accumulate, and I firmly view current ETH/BTC prices as a bargain for the patient trader,” wrote K33 senior analyst Vetle Lunde in a July 2 report.
Bitcoin is facing potential selling pressure from a forthcoming distribution of almost $9 billion worth of BTC related to the defunct Mt. Gox exchange.
ETH Price Declines
Ethereum prices are not showing any positive momentum today. The asset fell 3% to an intraday low of $3,342 during Asian trading on Wednesday.
ETH topped $3,500 in a ten-day high earlier this week but shadowed its big brother as crypto markets failed to break resistance and retreated once again.
Ethereum is currently 17% down from its 2024 peak of just over $4,000 and 31% down from its November 2021 all-time high.