In a landmark development, the SEC has approved the commencement of trading for spot Ethereum ETF/USD exchange-traded funds Monday, exposing mainstream investors to the price moves of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.
What Happened: Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas confirmed the news, as the 424(b) forms are now available on the SEC site, meaning the regulator has cleared them for trading from tomorrow.
The SEC has given its approval to registration forms from 21Shares, Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck and Invesco Galaxy. The only funds that don’t have effective documents from the SEC are Grayscale’s Trust and Mini Trust, which analysts expected to come tomorrow morning before trading commences.
Coinbase Global Inc. COIN, which happens to be the custodian for 8 of the 9 newly approved ETFs,also announced the clearance, describing it as an important milestone for cryptocurrencies.
The websites of the new investment products, including Blackrock’s ishares Ethereum Trust, also went live, unlocking a new era of trading for cryptocurrency-based funds.
Why It Matters: Despite an initial lack of engagement between the SEC and issuers, the approvals were granted unexpectedly. Firms had received approval of 19b-4 forms in May but needed their registration statements to go effective before launching.
Prior to the anticipated launch of spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S., Citi projected up to $5.4 billion in inflows within the first six months. The bank cautioned that actual inflows and returns could be lower than projected.
Analysts led by Alex Saunders noted that Ethereum offers long-term diversification benefits due to its varied use-cases. However, these benefits are not currently reflected in the market.
Furthermore, Michaël van de Poppe, a widely-followed cryptocurrency analyst, anticipated a surge in activity and value of tokens in the Ethereum ecosystem after the approval.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Ethereum was exchanging hands at $3,470.06, down 1.42% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Shares of Coinbase closed 2.86% higher at $265.15 during Monday’s regular trading session.
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