The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated further proceedings regarding 3 projected crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), efficaciously delaying their approval, arsenic announced successful notices published connected Dec. 18. These proceedings interest NYSE Arca’s proposed regularisation change for Grayscale’s Ethereum Futures Trust ETF and Nasdaq’s proposal for Hashdex’s spot Ethereum ETF.
Initially, connected Nov. 15, the SEC extended its reappraisal play for these proposals, and now, with the caller proceedings, the determination connected each ETF is postponed further. According to the notices, stakeholders indispensable taxable archetypal and rebuttal comments wrong 21 and 35 days, respectively, aft the notices’ work successful the national register, indicating a determination is astatine slightest 35 days away.
SEC asks astir Ethereum features and more
In some filings, the SEC asked whether Ethereum’s unsocial features, including proof-of-stake consensus, rise concerns regarding manipulation and fraud not seen successful Bitcoin futures ETFs. The bureau asked much broadly astir vulnerability to fraud and manipulation and each ETF proposal’s quality to trim this risk.
Regarding Grayscale’s application, the SEC specifically asked whether the projected money should summation support if and erstwhile respective competing funds statesman trading, assuming that each of those funds provides identical exposure.
On the Hashdex proposal, the SEC asked respective questions astir the Ethereum spot market. Those questions acrophobic matters specified arsenic liquidity, futures-based spot pricing, correlations betwixt spot and CME Ethereum futures markets, and whether applicable regulated markets are significant.
Pando’s ETF
Finally, the SEC published a notice soliciting comments connected a projected regularisation alteration from Cboe BZX concerning a spot Bitcoin ETF from Pando Asset AG.
This announcement provides important inheritance accusation akin to different erstwhile notices connected spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, it does not question retired answers to circumstantial questions, dissimilar the 2 Ethereum ETF notices described above.
Pando Asset AG applied for its spot Bitcoin ETF connected Nov. 29. As such, the SEC’s existent filing is an aboriginal announcement that does not yet hold proceedings. Instead, it says that the SEC indispensable approve, disapprove, oregon institute further proceedings wrong 45 days of work successful the national registry oregon wrong a longer play of 90 days. It does not supply nonstop deadlines.
The station SEC issues remark notices connected Grayscale, Hashdex, and Pando crypto ETFs appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.