Ethereum
Bitwise Updates Ethereum ETF Filing as US Listing Nears
Asset manager Bitwise filed an updated registration statement for its proposed Ethereum spot ETF with regulators on Wednesday, revealing its intention to waive fees. While largely procedural, the latest revision is being seen by market watchers as a sign that the launch of Ethereum ETFs is imminent.
“Expect more from other issuers over the rest of the week,” said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg. wrote on Twitter (aka X). “We think these things could potentially [be listed] later next week, or the week of the 15th at this point.”
After actions in Bitwise Ethereum ETFs are publicly traded, Bitwise will waive a yet-to-be-determined management fee on the first $500 million its fund raises during this period, modified deposit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.
Bitwise’s decision follows those of Franklin Templeton and VanEck. Both ETF candidates included Fee waivers in deposits for the first $10 billion and $1.5 billion respectively.
Anticipation for spot Ethereum ETF trading has been growing since the regulator’s decision. last minute approval in May. While the SEC has approved several so-called 19b-4 forms, it has not yet green-lighted asset managers’ individual S-1 filings, which are required for trading to begin.
Bitwise filed its amended S-1 a few days before the deadline, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. On Twitter, he launched the idea that Bitwise “wanted to get this thing out of the way” and that the SEC’s latest round of comments appeared minimal.
“From what I heard, the last round of comments was ‘literally nothing’ – it took no time at all to update them,” he said.
Balchunas acknowledged that the product category appears on track to hit the market this month. At the same time, he questioned why the regulator seemed to be dragging its feet, given that the SEC has generally seemed satisfied with the companies’ filings so far.
“Given the lightness of the comments, these securities could easily have been traded at this time,” he wrote. “This could be a ‘problem’ issuer that is slowing down [the] process or just summer.”
Shortly after the Ethereum spot ETF was approved on May 23, the cryptocurrency surged to around $4,000. Yet as the approval process progressed, Ethereum’s price lost most of those gains, adrift $3,270, at the time of writing.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said last month that the process for launching spot Ethereum ETFs is “it goes wellSpeaking at the Bloomberg Invest Summit, he added that progress depends on asset managers’ ability to provide comprehensive information.
While Bitwise’s amended filing contains few changes, it does include some new disclosures. For example, a clause was inserted stating that “the SEC Chairman has stated that the SEC has the authority under existing law to regulate the digital asset industry” in a section on oversight.
Bitwise also added a few sentences stating that some digital asset trading platforms, to the extent they are regulated, may not be compliant with applicable rules.
Finally, a section also describes the “initial creation of Ether.” Looking at Ethereum’s initial supply of 72 million, it shows how most of it was sold to the public via a crowdsale in 2014, alongside distributions to the Ethereum Foundation and network developers.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.