'Bloomberg: Investment Community Braces for Possible Rejection of Spot Ether ETF'

'Bloomberg: Investment Community Braces for Possible Rejection of Spot Ether ETF'

The investment community is already bracing for a possible rejection of a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bloomberg reported. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that there hasn’t been much private back-and-forth between the SEC and industry players on a spot ETH ETF, unlike with a spot Bitcoin ETF. As a result, some fund companies are expecting a denial, the people said. “We’re not seeing any movement toward approval,” added Bitwise Chief Compliance Officer Katherine Dowling. “Most people are assuming it will be rejected.” The SEC has yet to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, and it is unclear when or if it will do so. However, the agency has approved several Bitcoin futures ETFs, which track the price of Bitcoin futures contracts rather than the price of Bitcoin itself. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, and it is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. A spot ETH ETF would allow investors to gain exposure to the price of Ether without having to buy and store the cryptocurrency themselves. The rejection of a spot ETH ETF would be a setback for the cryptocurrency industry, but it would not be a surprise. The SEC has been cautious about approving cryptocurrency ETFs, and it is likely to continue to be so until the regulatory landscape becomes clearer.