Bitwise, a prominent asset management firm, has recently made headlines by amending its S-1 registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include the listing and trading of shares of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF). This move comes in response to SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s indication that approvals for spot Ether ETFs could potentially be finalized by the summer of 2024, with some market analysts speculating that it could happen as early as July.
On July 3, Bitwise filed an updated Form S-1 registration statement with the SEC, featuring a six-month fee waiver for up to $500 million. While the exact launch date for listing and trading on NYSE Arca was not specified in the filing, it was mentioned that this would occur “as soon as practicable after the effective date” of the registration.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shared his thoughts on Bitwise’s amended S-1 filing, suggesting that the SEC’s delayed approval process for spot Ether ETFs could be attributed to various factors such as problematic issuers or the summertime slowdown. Balchunas highlighted the lack of significant comments on the filing, implying that the ETFs could have potentially been trading by now if not for the delays.
Bitwise’s recent move follows the SEC’s approval of spot Ether ETF 19b-4 filings from eight asset managers on May 23. Since then, the cryptocurrency investment community has been eagerly anticipating further developments from the SEC regarding the potential release date of these ETFs. SEC Chair Gary Gensler previously mentioned in a Senate Banking Committee hearing that the commission expected to approve S-1 registration statements for asset managers “sometime over the course of this summer.”
Bitwise initially filed its S-1 with the SEC for shares of a spot Ether ETF back in March amidst speculations that the regulator might classify Ether as a security. However, court filings from June indicated that the SEC had abandoned this consideration, paving the way for the progress seen in the approval process for Ether ETFs.
Bitwise’s recent actions regarding the listing and trading of spot Ether ETFs reflect the growing interest and anticipation surrounding these products in the cryptocurrency market. While regulatory hurdles and delays persist, the industry remains optimistic about the potential impact of Ether ETFs on digital asset investment opportunities.
