The U.S-based launch of Spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), originally anticipated for July 2, is facing a delay following an intervention by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has requested supplemental information on resubmissions of the S-1 forms, which will likely delay the debut of spot Ether ETFs until mid-to-late July.
This newly proposed timeline by the SEC was noted by Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart. Bind to a uncertain deadline, the S-1 forms grant the SEC the discretion on the timeline for receipt, review, and approval. This is the second component of a dual-phase process for the launch of the ETFs, following the acceptance of issuers’ 19b-4 forms in May.
ETF store’s president, Nate Geraci, revealed that the previous round of revisions on the S-1 forms were quite minor. He anticipated that the SEC would greenlight issuers for trading within a fortnight to three weeks. The SEC hinted at a possible launch in the summer, though no specific dates were given.
In early June, Balchunas had predicted the launch of the ETFs in the early part of July, given the absence of substantial commentary from the SEC on the filed S-1 forms by the ETF applicants.
SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, indicated the smooth progress of approval processes. Furthermore, a rule change approved by the SEC has allowed key issuers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, iShares, and Invesco to participate. However, Gensler also added that the process is contingent upon the depth of the applicants’ responses and stated that the debut of Ether ETFs on stock exchanges might be postponed until September.