According to CryptoPotato, Bitwise, an asset management firm, has updated its S-1 registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade shares of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF). This move comes after SEC Chair Gary Gensler's announcement that the commission might finalize approvals for spot Ether ETFs by summer 2024. Some analysts predict this could happen as early as July.
Bitwise submitted the revised Form S-1 registration statement to the SEC on July 3, which includes a six-month fee waiver for up to $500 million. The filing did not specify an exact launch date for listing and trading on NYSE Arca, but it stated that this would occur 'as soon as practicable after the effective date' of the registration. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that Bitwise filed the amended S-1 ahead of a July 8 deadline. He also speculated on the reasons for the SEC's delayed approval process, suggesting it could be due to a problematic issuer or simply the summertime slowdown.
The move by Bitwise follows the SEC's approval of the spot Ether ETF 19b-4 filings from eight asset managers on May 23. Since then, the crypto investment community has been eagerly awaiting further developments from the SEC regarding the potential release date. In a June 13 Senate Banking Committee hearing, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated that the commission expected to approve S-1 registration statements for asset managers 'sometime over the course of this summer.' Gensler mentioned that the registration process for the Ethereum exchange-traded products was proceeding smoothly, with approvals for individual issuers expected in the coming months.
Bitwise initially filed its S-1 with the SEC for shares of a spot Ether ETF in March amid rumors that the regulator was considering labeling ETH a security. However, court filings from June suggested that the SEC had dropped this consideration.