According to Blockworks, executives from two companies, Ark Invest and 21Shares, who jointly launched a spot Ethereum ETF, have different views on whether such funds will be approved in the short term. Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood told Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz’s podcast this week that the chances of the Ark 21Shares Ethereum ETF and other similar products being approved in May are “probably declining.” Industry observers expect the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to rule on the spot ethereum proposal around May 23, which is the expiration of the regulator’s 240-day period to decide on the first such applications. Wood said: “The fact that we are communicating with the SEC is a clear sign that a Bitcoin spot ETF is going to happen. I just think the SEC is still biding its time and maybe studying the problem.” 21Shares co-founder Ophelia Snyder pointed out that the Bitcoin ETF was approved The main reason for the approval was Grayscale's legal victory with the SEC last year. The judge found in his August ruling that the SEC was "arbitrary and capricious" by allowing a Bitcoin futures ETF but preventing the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) from becoming an ETF. The SEC allowed ETFs holding Ethereum futures contracts to begin trading in October. Snyder told Yanowitz that she was less bearish on the chances of a spot Ethereum ETF being approved than Wood and others given that “most of the filings are very recent.” A 21Shares executive noted: “There’s not a lot of difference between these filings for Ethereum and Bitcoin. The structure, the custodian, the disclosures are all the same. That means there’s less to look at.” However, Wood said , she believes that the language in the pledge plan for planning fund assets has always been "a difficult point" for the SEC. Staking Ethereum is the process of depositing ETH to help secure the Ethereum blockchain and, as a result, earn ETH earnings. A revised proposal submitted by Ark and 21Shares last month said the sponsor "may from time to time pledge a portion of the trust's assets through one or more trusted staking providers". Fidelity and Grayscale have made similar additions to their Ethereum ETF applications.
