Supporters of the Spot Ethereum ETF were pleased to hear SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s positive comments during a Senate hearing, indicating that the applications were making progress.
During a meeting with a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Gary Gensler, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), suggested that a full regulatory approval for spot Ether (ETH) ETFs could be granted by the end of September.
Gensler mentioned during the budget hearing on June 13 that the final round of filings, known as S-1s or registration of securities, were currently under staff review. The commission had already given the green light to proposed rule changes to list spot ETH ETFs, also referred to as 19b-4, the previous month.
Despite the SEC’s confirmation that Ethereum ETFs are likely to be traded soon, Gensler remained ambiguous about Ether’s classification as either a commodity or security. In contrast, Rostin Behnam, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, firmly stated that Ether should be classified as a commodity.
While experts observed that spot ETH ETF applications were filed in a non-security manner, the approach that U.S. regulators and policymakers will take towards the asset is still uncertain. The exclusion of staking language from the applications indicates that the SEC is likely examining Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
The SEC has initiated various enforcement actions and sent Wells Notices to Ethereum-related providers such as Consensys and Uniswap, reinforcing Gensler’s perspective on the issue. However, with recent political changes, inquiries into Ether’s underlying technology may be put on hold.
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