The Securities and Exchange Commission further punted decisions on whether to approve or disapprove applications for two proposed Ethereum ETH
-2.86%
-focused ETFs.
The agency on Monday said it was “instituting proceedings” for the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF and the Grayscale Ethereum Futures Trust, asking for public input on whether the exchange-traded funds should be allowed to list, according to filings.
While the SEC has approved an ether futures-based ETF before, it has not given the greenlight to a spot ether or mixed fund. In October, nine futures-based products were approved at the same time, marking their debut.
The crypto industry is anxiously waiting to find out whether the SEC will approve of spot bitcoin ETFs, as firms have met with the agency’s staff over the past month to go over details.
Previous delays
The SEC previously delayed a decision on the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF last month. The ETF wants to hold both spot ether and futures contracts and is managed and controlled by Toroso Investments, which is registered as a commodity pool operator with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and member of the National Futures Association.
The agency first delayed Grayscale’s proposed Ethereum futures ETF last month. The agency asked commenters on Monday about whether ether’s proof of stake consensus raises concerns around fraud and manipulation.
Comments for both Grayscale and Hashdex are due in about 21 days.
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About Author
Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.