(Bloomberg) — Asset managers are optimistic that the SEC will greenlight the first U.S. ETFs that invest directly in Ether in mid-July, saying the back-and-forth with the regulator remains constructive.
Despite earlier market speculation that approval would arrive during the July 4 holiday week, the Securities and Exchange Commission has told Ether exchange-traded fund applicants that they have until July 8 to submit updated documents , according to two people familiar with the matter. There may be an additional round of filings after the round expected on Friday.
The U.S. regulator's latest reactions to issuers last Friday consisted of small questions that issuers are now addressing, the people said. In May, the SEC signed with a proposal from exchanges to list products. Special approval is required before they can be launched.
Steve Kurz, head of asset management at Galaxy Digital, predicted that an Ether ETF will be approved within the next two weeks. Galaxy has filed for an Ether ETF, he said.
“This is a window, the SEC is engaged,” Kurz said during a Bloomberg television interview on Tuesday. “We've been doing this for months. We did it for the Bitcoin ETF, the products are fundamentally similar – we know the plumbing, we know the process.”
Firms including BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments, 21Shares and Invesco have filings pending approval. Many issuers have yet to disclose fees for their respective funds, which is a necessary step before the funds begin trading.
Assuming the funds get a green light, a key question is whether Ether wallets will generate anything like the demand fueled by the historic January debut of US spot-Bitcoin ETFs. The latter have accumulated 52 billion dollars of wealth.
Ether was down about 1.5% at $3,411 as of 1 p.m. in New York. The second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin is up about 50% so far this year.