United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler revealed that spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETF) approval “will take some time,” the federal regulator said during a Wednesday appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
What’s Next For Spot ETH ETF Approval?
Gensler’s comment may be hinting at approving all spot ETH ETF candidates’ S-1 form, a.k.a an initial registration form required by the SEC before the products can be made fully available to the public.
The SEC approved several spot ETH ETF applicants’ 19-4b forms on May 23, including VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise.
.@SECGov Chair Gary Gensler appearing on CNBC (during HFS digital assets subcommittee hearing) says next step on ETH ETF approvals “will take some time” pic.twitter.com/rGSFqZbTER
— blockchain tipsheet (@blockchaintpsht) June 5, 2024
The federal regulator’s go-ahead marked a turn of events following weeks of dwindling approval odds and came just months after the Gensler-ran organization gave spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs the green light.
The SEC chair has been scrutinized for his longstanding crypto-skepticism and regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets.
“Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto,” Gensler warned investors in a January 2024 statement shortly after spot BTC ETFs were approved.
In a recent interview with CryptoNews’ Rachel Wolfson, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart alleged that the regulator’s ETH approval was “a complete political decision” amid increased bipartisan support of crypto-friendly policies ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“We think it was a 180 from the SEC,” Seyffart continued.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler Lays Into Crypto Sector On Live TV
Gensler did nothing to correct Seyffart’s assumption as he heavily criticized the digital asset sector during his Wednesday morning CNBC appearance.
“These crypto exchanges, Jim, are doing things we would never allow this New York Stock Exchange to do,” Gensler told its anchor Jim Cramer.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler on @CNBC Squawk Box this morning. Note the pivot from “all tokens are securities” to “tokens lack proper disclosure”.
Cramer asked about other token ETFs, Gensler dodges as usual into crypto bankruptcies as an answer for why crypto bad, SEC good. pic.twitter.com/FmSZkwuTYW
— Alexander Grieve (@AlexanderGrieve) June 5, 2024
“It’s a suboptimal situation for investors,” He continued, saying that digital asset investors are “not getting proper disclosures.”
Additionally, the federal regulator took aim at the digital asset industry’s credibility by noting the imprisonment of several key players across the crypto industry.
“Some of the most leading lights in this field are either in jail, about to go to jail, or awaiting extradition,” Gensler continued, potentially referring to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Binance Labs founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, and Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon.
Despite Gensler’s stringent outlook, many in the crypto community feel his agency’s approval of spot ETH ETFs and spot BTC ETFs alike could help usher in increased mainstream digital asset adoption across the United States.