In a post two months ago, we discussed how the United States Securities and Exchange Commission surprised the crypto community on May 23, 2024 when it effectively set the stage for the sale of spot Ethereum Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) to begin in the not-too-distant future. That day has now arrived.
On May 23, 2024, the SEC approved the 19b-4 form for a number of ETH ETF applications (form 19b-4 is a form that is used to inform the SEC of a proposed rule change by a self-regulatory organization). However, before trading could commence on the Ethereum ETFs, the funds needed approval of their S-1 registration statements, which includes the details of the funds, such as fees and the way the products will work.
The SEC has now given (or will shortly give) final approval to eight ETFs: the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), VanEck Ethereum ETF (ETHV), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF (CETH), Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) and the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF (QETH). Trading will begin on three exchanges — Cboe, Nasdaq and NYSE — on July 23, 2024.
The market cap of Ethereum is about $420 billion, second only to Bitcoin, at about $1.3 trillion. With Ethereum ETFs now joining Bitcoin ETFs, investors can now access more than 70% of the liquid crypto asset market through these ETFs. The price for Bitcoin has increased about 50% since the launch of the Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, including hitting an all-time high. Some traders are predicting the same for ETH, though it admittedly lacks the first-mover advantage that accompanied the Bitcoin ETFs.
