Ethereum ETF and Bitcoin EFT, Which is More Attractive?

Previously, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, May 23 2024 US time approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to register exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the price of Ethereum, potentially paving the way for such products to begin trading later this year.

Reporting from Yahoo Finance, Friday (24/5/2024), although Ethereum ETF issuers also have to get the green light before their products can be launched, Thursday's approval was a big surprise win for these companies and the cryptocurrency industry.

Previously, many people predicted that the SEC would reject the application. Nine financial firms including VanEck, ARK Investments/21Shares and BlackRock (BLK.N), raised new hopes of launching an Ethereum ETF after the SEC in January approved a bitcoin ETF.

Thursday is the deadline for the SEC to rule on VanEck's filing. Market participants were prepared to accept this rejection as the SEC did not engage with them on the application.

However, in a surprising move, SEC officials on Monday asked exchanges to quickly complete the filings, leaving the industry scrambling to complete weeks of work in just days, sources said.

The exchange's application has requested SEC approval for the rule changes required to register the new product, but the filing firms still need the SEC to approve an ETF registration statement detailing investor disclosures before they can begin trading.

Unlike exchange filings, there is no specific time frame within which the SEC must rule on the statement. Industry players say it is unclear how long it will take.

The SEC rejected spot bitcoin ETFs for more than a decade due to market manipulation concerns but was forced to approve them after Grayscale Investments won a court challenge last year.