- The SEC approved Spot Ethereum ETF on July 22, 2024
- ETH ETF is the second crypto-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US
- Market yet to react to the news
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially approved the trading of Spot Ethereum ETFs effective today, July 23, 2024. After the expected official approval, the Ether ETFs are ready and available for trading as the trading day begins.
The SEC announced the official approval in a letter dated July 22, 2024. “The NYSE Arca certifies its approval for listing and registration of the common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest of Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH), under the Exchange Act of 1934,” the letter read.
Eight issuers in all, including 21Shares, Bitwise, and the major asset managers Fidelity, Blackrock, and VanEck, had their ETH ETF products approved by the SEC.
Source: SEC
This asset is expected to be the second crypto-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. The market is optimistic that it can replicate Bitcoin's success. Bitcoin made its ETF debut in January. Just three months later, the BTC reached an all-time high price of $73,000.
With this decision, investors now have a new cryptocurrency asset to invest in after a protracted process to get SEC approval for ether ETFs. The first 19b-4 form approvals for Ether ETF applicants were given out in May. Nevertheless, the SEC took a long time to review the final documents.
How will Ethereum (ETH) react?
Now that the official approval has been granted, how will ETH react to the news and what will the first day of ETH ETFs trading look like? The official approval was announced late Monday, July 22, 2024. As of the time of writing (early July 23, 2024), the ETH has not reacted so positively: ETH was trading at $3,461 with a 24-hour trading volume increase of 26.63% to $19.64 billion and a market cap of $416.46 billion.
Some experts suggest that the trading is yet to be open and that the actual reaction should be tracked at the end of the trading day.
In addition, the timing of the approval is worth noting: Bitcoin 2024, the world’s largest Bitcoin conference, will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 25 to 27, 2024, and the SEC approved the Ethereum ETFs on July 22. With the launch of its ETF, Ethereum will be in the spotlight this week, stealing some attention from Bitcoin.
The only two cryptocurrencies that have an ETF in the US are Bitcoin and Ethereum, but more are anticipated to be introduced in the upcoming year. Applications for the first Solana SOL-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have already been sent out, and other cryptocurrencies, such as XRP, anticipate joining the ETF discussion as well.
SEC chair Gary Gensler likely to resign after Biden’s pullout
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, will likely resign after President Joe Biden’s tenure. This is according to the founder of 10x Research, Markus Thielen.
Recall that On Sunday, July 21, 2024, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that he was dropping out of the November 2024 presidential election race. This means he would not have a chance to be elected for a second term, and the acclaimed rematch with the Republican Party nominee and former president Donald Trump will no longer hold.
