The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested prospective spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers to re-file their S-1 forms by July 8, pushing back the expected launch date of July 2 to mid-July or later. SEC Chief Gary Gensler had previously mentioned that spot ETH ETFs would be approved ‘this summer.’ The SEC has returned the forms with slight comments, causing the issuers to address these comments in the latest round of revisions. This process may involve more back-and-forth between the SEC and the issuers, indicating that this may not be the final filing.
The approval of the S-1 forms is the second part of the process for launching spot Ethereum ETFs, with the first part involving the approval of the 19b-4 forms by the SEC in May. Unlike the 19b-4 forms, the S-1 forms have no set deadline for approval, meaning the launch of the ETFs will depend on how long the SEC takes to review and approve these forms and announce the final filing date. The last round of revisions took place in June, with updates including Franklin Templeton disclosing a sponsor fee of 0.19% and VanEck disclosing a fee of 0.20%, with intentions to waive the fee for the first $1.5 billion assets.
Some issuers also disclosed seed investments in the previous round of revisions, with Invesco Galaxy announcing a $100,000 seed investment on June 17, Grayscale revealing a similar investment for its mini Ethereum trust, and Fidelity’s seed capital investor, FMR Capital, purchasing 125,000 shares at $37.99 each on June 4. BlackRock had previously reported a $10 million seed funding for its ETF. These seed investments are all part of the process leading up to the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S.
The updates to the registration statements also included Franklin Templeton and VanEck offering free trading for the first $10 billion assets for six months and waiving the fee for the first $1.5 billion assets respectively. This indicates the issuers’ commitment to attracting investors to the ETFs once they are launched. The delays in the approval of the S-1 forms by the SEC have caused uncertainty around the launch date of the spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S., but the continued revisions and disclosures by the issuers show their dedication to getting the ETFs approved and launched.
Overall, the SEC’s request for re-filing of the S-1 forms by prospective spot Ethereum ETF issuers has delayed the expected launch date to mid-July or later. The issuers have been asked to address slight comments in the latest round of revisions, indicating that this may not be the final filing. With no set deadline for the approval of the S-1 forms, the launch of the spot ETH ETFs will depend on how long the SEC takes to review and approve these forms and announce the final filing date. Despite the delays, issuers continue to update their registration statements and disclose seed investments, showing their commitment to launching spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S.
