Benzinga – by Michael Cohen, Benzinga Editor.
The prices of cryptocurrencies surged on Monday evening as new details emerged about the Securities and Exchange Commission advancing the process for the first U.S. exchange-traded funds holding Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).
What Happened: On Monday, the SEC’s Trading and Markets Division instructed asset managers to revise their 19b-4 filings, which are typically used to request the SEC’s permission to amend their rulebooks for the listing of a new type of ETF, according to The Wall Street Journal.
This move was seen as a positive development by many investors, leading to a surge in crypto prices. The updated filings are anticipated to be live in the near future, WSJ reports.
Despite the lack of communication between the SEC staff and potential ETF issuers, the SEC’s decision to instruct asset managers to amend their filings has raised hopes for an Ether ETF approval this week, according to the Journal. This has led to an 18% surge in the price of Ether and a more than 5% increase in the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).
Why It Matters: The potential approval of an Ether ETF is a significant development for the cryptocurrency market. Ether is the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, and an ETF would make it easier for investors to gain exposure to this digital asset.
What’s Next: The updated 19b-4 filings are expected to go live in the coming days, WSJ reports. Some analysts have raised their estimates for an ether ETF approval to 75% following this development.
Why It Matters: The SEC’s recent actions have sparked hope for the approval of Ether ETFs, with analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart raising the odds from 25% to 75% on Monday. However, they later clarified that the odds were related to the 19b-4 approvals, not the final ETF authorization.
The SEC is expected to make a decision on the VanEck spot Ether ETF on Thursday. The SEC has been investigating whether Ether, the primary native asset to the Ethereum blockchain, is a security. If deemed a security, this could be grounds for the regulator to reject the spot Ether ETF applications.
What’s Next: The potential approval of Ether ETFs has already had a significant impact on the market. Following the news, Bitcoin surged past $70,000 and Ethereum’s price rose by 14%.
Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, recently praised the platform’s culture of welcoming criticism, a sentiment that was met with mixed reactions on social media.
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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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