The U.S. financial watchdog requires more time to assess the ether-ETF filed by the giant BlackRock in November. With the recent introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs, the question arises: will we see spot Ether ETFs?
Currently, nine asset managers have submitted filings to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Wednesday, the SEC requested an extension to evaluate BlackRock’s filing, named iShares Ethereum Trust, submitted in November. The SEC will make its decision on March 10 to either “approve or disapprove” the filing.
This extension request allows BlackRock to make adjustments to better align with the SEC’s requirements. It’s worth noting that until the last moment, BlackRock modified its spot Bitcoin ETF filing, making concessions to the SEC that proved successful.
While Ether experienced a surge in mid-January due to investors anticipating the introduction of spot Ether ETFs, more experts are questioning the likelihood of this scenario. This uncertainty is reflected in a 13% drop in Ether’s value within a week.
Ambiguity persists regarding Ether’s legal status. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently stated that actions taken regarding Bitcoin ETFs are limited to this particular “unsecured commodity” and should not be interpreted otherwise. It’s important to recall that, according to the SEC, Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency considered a “commodity” and, therefore, falls outside its jurisdiction. However, the SEC has yet to rule on Ether’s status, creating uncertainty criticized by many within the crypto ecosystem.
Before January 10, the SEC only approved Bitcoin futures ETFs, excluding spot Bitcoin ETFs, citing that futures contracts are less prone to manipulation due to their market being based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) futures prices, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC).
An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a tradable fund on the stock exchange that tracks the performance of a stock index or financial asset by replicating its fluctuations, both upward and downward.
