Ether ETFs Should be Approved by September

During a budget hearing, the chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission informed senators that the applications to operate ether ETFs spot should be finalized by the end of the summer

Gary Gensler, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, informed senators during a budget hearing on Thursday that the final approvals for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that trade Ethereum’s ether (ETH) should be completed this summer.

In a hearing to justify the market regulator’s budget, Gensler informed a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee that the process is proceeding efficiently following the initial approval of a group of ETFs.

The agency had previously approved the initial round of applications; however, he stated that the final registration requirements, which are filings known as S-1s, are currently being managed at the “staff level.”

The new ETFs can be listed once the filings are approved, which will expand the market to include easy-to-trade funds that hold actual ether, similar to the earlier establishment of bitcoin spot ETFs that hold (BTC).

Gensler did not provide a definitive answer when asked explicitly whether ETH is a commodity, thereby preserving his agency’s ambiguous stance regarding the asset. At the same hearing, Rostin Behnam, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission chief, responded, “Yes,” when asked whether it is a commodity.