SEC Approves Nine Spot Ethereum ETFs for Trading Starting July 23

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has granted the essential last approval for nine spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those offered by firms such as 21Shares, Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, and Invesco Galaxy, allowing them to start trading in the U.S. effective July 23.

The agency has authorized the final S-1 registration statements necessary for their introduction across various stock exchanges, including Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

Companies looking to introduce their spot Ethereum ETFs had received initial approval for their 19b-4 forms from the SEC back in May. However, they still needed S-1 forms to be activated before launching. This decision reflects a response to surprise the earlier communication gaps between the SEC and the asset management companies . During the week leading up to the deadlines, the agency unexpectedly shifted its position and informed the exchanges that the Ethereum ETFs would receive approval that week.

Spot Ethereum ETFs Expected to Draw In $5 to $8 Billion in Investments Over Next Few Years

Gaining the SEC's approval for ETH ETFs has been a multi-year journey. This follows the agency's historic acceptance of Bitcoin ETFs in January, marking another pivotal moment for the crypto world. Since those investment products were sanctioned in January, they have attracted over $16 billion in net inflows and amassing a total of over $58 billion in net assets, as reported by SoSoValue. This remarkable increase underscores significant interest from investors in cryptocurrency-related financial offerings.

However, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posits that Ethereum ETFs may not gain the same traction as Bitcoin ETFs. His estimates suggest these products might pull in only 10 to 15% of the assets that their Bitcoin counterparts garnered, which could translate to approximately $5 to $8 billion—a solid outcome for a recent launch within the first few years. Additionally, Galaxy Digital, a firm focused on crypto financial services, anticipates that inflows into ETH spot ETFs could make up roughly 33% of the inflows seen by spot Bitcoin ETFs. Their latest report indicates these projections can vary widely, landing somewhere between 20% and 50% in dollar amounts.

As of this writing, ETH is trading at $3,460, showing a slight drop of over 1.08%, illustrating its inherent volatility, based on data from CoinMarketCap.