JUST IN: U.S. SEC Approves Spot ETFs for Ethereum
U.S. regulators have greenlit spot ETFs that will hold Ethereum (ETH), marking a significant step for American investors who now have a second major cryptocurrency available through these easily tradable investment vehicles.
This decision concludes a lengthy approval process for Ethereum ETFs by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and follows the earlier approval of Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in January.
It’s official: Spot Eth ETFs have been made effective by the SEC. The 424(b) forms are rolling in now, the last step = all systems go for tomorrow’s 930am launch. Game on. pic.twitter.com/9MaBDBA8co
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) July 22, 2024
The move to approve ETH ETFs comes after a period of uncertainty. In late May, SEC officials began reconsidering the approval process, which led to the critical filing approval on May 23, paving the way for the recent decision.
Since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in January, which saw unprecedented investment influx and drove Bitcoin prices to new highs, similar expectations are being set for Ethereum ETFs. Analysts are hopeful that Ethereum’s price might rise significantly due to this new investment avenue, although inflows are expected to be less dramatic compared to Bitcoin ETFs.
Research firm Steno Research forecasts that ETH ETFs could attract between $15 billion to $20 billion in their first year. However, this is anticipated to be less than the rapid influx seen with Bitcoin ETFs, attributed to Ethereum lacking the same “first-mover advantage” and the strong narrative that Bitcoin holds as “digital gold.”
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
