Ethereum ETF Update: Speaking to Bloomberg Invest, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler says the application is ‘going smoothly’

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler showed impatience as he answered reporters’ questions about cryptocurrencies, including his agency’s handling of applications to launch Ethereum ETFs. While speaking with journalist Annmarie Hordern at the Bloomberg Invest event in New York on Tuesday, Gensler accused her interviewer of going after “clicks” after asking her several questions related to cryptocurrency policy.

The issue of cryptocurrency ETFs has been controversial during Gensler’s tenure at the SEC, including when a federal appeals court last year rejected the agency’s decision to deny Bitcoin ETF applications. The court’s decision led the SEC to approve these Bitcoin petitions in January and, despite early signals from Gensler that the Ethereum petitions would be denied, the agency recently indicated that it would grant them.

The agency’s apparent U-turn has sparked continued speculation about how long the process will take. Despite his grumbling, Gensler — a noted crypto opponent — offered few details.

“I don’t know the timing, but it’s going well.” He said his team is waiting for asset managers to make “appropriate disclosures.”

Gensler’s comments came after the SEC deposits this spring, it was suggested that the agency might have taken the position that Ethereum had been a security for over a year.

Gensler also made a point of pointing out that an ETF trading Ethereum futures has already been approved. Last October, the SEC approved futures ETF applications from Valkyrie Investments, VanEck Funds, Proshares, Bitwise Asset Management and five others. The pending spot ETF applications would give investors direct exposure to the asset through regulated exchanges.

Once announcement As a supporter of cryptocurrencies by many who saw his tenure teaching a course on the subject at MIT as an endorsement, Gensler has harshly criticized the industry in recent years. Last year alone, the regulator filed 46 lawsuits against cryptocurrency-related companies, according to a Bloomberg report report.

Gensler compared the 11 Bitcoin ETFs approved by the SEC this year, which currently trade on regulated exchanges, with what he calls the “non-compliant model,” that is, exchanges that also knowingly trade non-compliant titles. “These are real protections for investors and others who want to access financial markets,” Gensler said. “It’s about confidence in these markets. »

Gensler declined to answer a question about reports that his stance on crypto could cost Joe Biden, who nominated him, the election. “My number one priority is the American public,” Gensler said. “That’s the client, and so that’s who we represent.”

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