Ethereum ETFs Approved by SEC, Bringing Popular Funds to Second-Largest Cryptocurrency

U.S.
regulators
have
given
final
approval
for
spot
exchange-traded
funds
that
hold
Ethereum’s
ether

(ETH),
giving
Americans
access
to
a
second
major
cryptocurrency
via
the
easy-to-trade
vehicles.

The
decision
caps
a
years-long
process
to
get
ether
ETFs
approved
by
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
and
follows
the
regulator’s
approval
of
bitcoin

(BTC)
ETFs
in
January.
Packaging
ether
in
an
ETF
wrapper
could
make
them
more
palatable
to
conventional
investors
since
the
funds
can
be
bought
and
sold
through
traditional
brokerage
accounts.
Since
their
debut
in
January,
bitcoin
ETFs
have
attracted
tens
of
billions
of
dollars
of
investment.

Approval
did
not
seem
certain
just
weeks
ago.
But
in
late
May,
SEC
officials

abruptly
began
engaging
with
wannabe
ETF
issuers
after
a
long
silence.
Then,
on
May
23,
the
regulator

approved
a
key
filing,
opening
up
a
pathway
to
full
approval
through
the
latest
decision.

“We’ve
now
fully
entered
the
ETF
era
of
crypto,”
Matt
Hougan,
chief
investment
office
at
Bitwise,
said.
“Investors
can
now
access
more
than
70%
of
the
liquid
crypto
asset
market
through
low-cost
ETPs.”

“Being
the
first
to
file
for
an
Ethereum
ETF
back
in
2021,
we
have
long
believed
investors
should
have
access
to
Ethereum
exposure
in
a
vehicle
they
find
accessible
and
familiar,”
said
Kyle
DaCruz,
head
of
digital
assets
at
VanEck.
“If
Bitcoin
is
digital
gold,
then
Ethereum
is
the
open-source
App
Store
and
the
gateway
for
exposure
to
the
thousands
of
applications
that
will
utilize
blockchain
technology.”

Read
more:



Ethereum
ETFs
Could
See
Underwhelming
Demand,
Two
Research
Firms
Predict

The
approval
and
beginning
of
trading
of
the
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
in
January,
which
became
the
most
successful
launch
in
the
history
of
exchange-traded
products
in
terms
of
the
speed
of
money
rushing
into
them,
pushed
the
price
of
the
largest
cryptocurrency
up
to
new
all-time
highs
after
surging
more
than
58%
within
just
two
months.

Some
analysts
predict
that
while
a
spot
ETH
ETF
could
move
the
price
of
ether

up
to
$6,500,
inflows
into
those
funds
won’t
be
nearly
as
high
as
for
their
bitcoin-focused
counterparts.

Research
firm
Steno
Research
predicts
that
the
newly
launched
ETFs
could
see
$15
billion
to
$20
billion
worth
of
inflows
in
the
first
year
which
is
roughly
the
same
that
the
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
have
taken
in
in
just
seven
months.
Ethereum
doesn’t
have
the
“first-mover
advantage”
that
bitcoin
had
and
it
lacks
a
strong
narrative
such
as
bitcoin’s
“digital
gold”
belief
among
many
supporters,
a
report
by
the
firm
stated.

UPDATE
(July
22,
2024,
21:35
UTC):

Adds
comments
from
issuers.