The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked potential spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers to resubmit their S-1 forms by July 8, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
This would delay the launch of the Ethereum ETF from its expected July 2 date to mid-July or later. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler told the Senate last month that a spot ETH ETF would be approved “this summer.”
An issuer source told The Block that the SEC sent the form back again, this time with only “some minor comments.” The issuer must address those comments in the latest round of revisions. The source added that this may not be the final document, suggesting there could be more rounds of back-and-forth between the SEC and the issuer.
The approval of the S-1 form is the second part of the process to launch a spot Ethereum ETF. The first part involves the Form 19b-4, which was approved by the SEC in May.
While Form 19b-4 has a deadline, Form S-1 does not. This means that the launch of a spot ETH ETF will depend on how long it takes the SEC to review and approve the Form S-1 and announce a final filing date.
Updates in the latest round of revisions
The last round of amendments occurred in June, when issuers updated their registration statements.
The update included Franklin Templeton’s disclosure that its sponsorship fee is 0.19%. The issuer will also offer six months of free trading for the first $10 billion in assets.
VanEck updated its filings to disclose a 0.20% sponsor fee. The firm intends to waive the fee for the first $1.5 billion in assets.
Some issuers also disclosed seed investments from their last funding round. On June 17, Invesco Galaxy announced a $100,000 seed investment, with investors purchasing 4,000 shares at $25 per share.
Grayscale revealed that its Mini Ethereum Trust also made a similar $100,000 investment, with the promoter acquiring 10,000 shares at $10 per share on May 31.
Fidelity’s seed capital investor, FMR Capital, contributed $4.7 million to the trust by purchasing 125,000 shares at $37.99 per share on June 4. Previously, BlackRock reported $10 million in seed funding for its ETF.
