SEC’s Gensler Says Timing of Spot Ether ETF Launch Depends on Issuers: Report

SEC Chair Gary Gensler implied that the ball is in the court of the spot ETF issuers when it comes to how soon a spot ether ETF may be listed.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cleared 19b-4s filings from prospective spot ether ETF issuers last month, sending the price of ether up 30% in two days. 

Although the price of ether hasn’t seen much momentum, and is now consolidating around $3,800, much of the hype around ether ETFs beginning to trade in the near future still remains. 

The SEC is now in the process of reviewing the S-1 filings or registration statements from these issuers before these funds will officially begin trading. According to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the timing of that depends on the issuers themselves.

When Reuters asked Gensler whether he thought the process would take weeks or months, he said  that “registrants are self-motivated to be responsive to the comments they get, but it’s really up to them how responsive they are.”

It is fair to assume that Gensler isn’t counting on this happening any time soon. Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Gensler said that he expects the launch of spot ether ETFs to “take some time.”

He declined to comment on timelines for when these ETFs might finally be listed, but noted that the applications were undergoing the standard review process which takes time. 

Gensler also went on to criticize crypto projects for not providing adequate disclosures, without naming specific tokens. 

Still, market participants are optimistic about the outlook for spot ether ETFs when they begin trading. Crypto analytics firm K33 Research estimates that these funds could attract $4 billion worth of inflows within the first five months of their launch. 

“Markets remain rangebound with low volatility, but moderate ETH ETF excitement is reflected in trader positioning. A relatively quiet week, but we expect the inevitable ETH ETF launch to follow a similar (explosive) path to Bitcoin’s,” noted the K33 analysts in a June 4 report.