Ethereum: Grayscale moves one step closer to a spot ETF, but…

• Grayscale said case for Ethereum spot ETFs as strong as that of Bitcoin.
• Concerns regarding the approval started to surface.

Grayscale Investments submitted a revised filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to transition its flagship Ethereum [ETH] trust into a spot ETF.

One step closer

Craig Salm, the company’s Chief Legal Officer, informed about the amended Form 19b-4 on X (formerly Twitter).

This indicated a pivotal step towards listing the Ethereum spot ETF shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), thereby allowing investors to profit from the price movements of the world’s second-largest digital asset.

For the curious, Form 19b-4 is a document filed with the SEC to propose a rule change. This is usually done when a stock exchange wants to list a new product, for example spot ETFs.

Salm said,

“Investors want and deserve access to Ethereum in the form of a spot Ethereum ETF, and we believe the case is just as strong as it was for spot Bitcoin ETFs.”

Will Ethereum be lucky?

The world’s largest digital asset manager applied with the U.S. regulator last year to transform its $10 billion-plus ETH trust (ETHE), which is currently traded over-the-counter (OTC), to a spot ETF.

Note that the company succeeded in getting its Bitcoin [BTC] trust transitioned to spot ETF following a court order. Just like Bitcoin’s approval journey, the SEC has been delaying decisions on ETH spot applications.

British multinational bank Standard Chartered had earlier forecasted that the SEC would dilly-dally until eventually approving by 23rd of May, the final deadline for the first list of ETF applications.

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However, unlike Bitcoin’s case, there hasn’t been clear dialogue between the issuers and the regulator vis à vis Ethereum ETFs. The radio silence was stoking uncertainty and lowering the odds of approval, according to experts.

Political pushback has also started. Senators Jack Reed and Laphonza Butler wrote to the SEC, urging to “strictly limit” applications for approval of crypto ETFs. The senators argued that the markets for other cryptos other than Bitcoin were “far more exposed to misconduct.”