Nasdaq Forced To Update Spot Ethereum ETF Fillings: Report

Key Points:

• The U.S. SEC is set to approve spot Ethereum ETFs, boosting Ether’s price.
• Nasdaq and CBOE are modifying their spot ETH ETF applications at SEC’s request.
• Despite past bitcoin ETF rejections, approval for spot Ether ETFs could happen soon.

The SEC is likely to approve listing spot Ethereum ETFs as the SEC asked Nasdaq and CBOE to tweak their applications, a usual pre-approval step.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looks set to green-light the listing of spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to sources privy to the matter.

The potential move has the price of Ether soaring by as much as 20% on Monday, with a further 2.5% rise on Tuesday morning.

Nasdaq and CBOE Modify Their Applications for Ethereum ETFs

According to Reuters, the SEC had recently asked Nasdaq and CBOE to modify their applications to list spot ETH ETFs. This is usually a precursor to approval.

The SEC must decide by the end of this week whether to approve applications submitted by CBOE for VanEck and ARK Investments/21Shares’ Ether ETFs.

The first applications for spot Ether products came in following the SEC’s approval of Ether futures ETFs in October. However, market participants had expected the SEC to reject the spot Ether ETF applications due to discouraging encounters with the regulator.

Crypto skeptic SEC Chairman Gary Gensler had led the agency to reject spot bitcoin ETFs for more than a decade citing concerns about market manipulation.

Readmore: Fidelity Files Revised S-1 For Spot Ethereum ETF Launch Amid SEC Signal

SEC’s Potential Approval of Spot Ethereum ETFs

But it was compelled to approve them after Grayscale Investments won a court challenge last year. The newly approved bitcoin funds quickly drew interest, with two of the funds gathering more than $1 billion in assets within the first week.

While the exchange applications seek SEC approval for the rule change needed to list new products, the ETF issuers also need agency approval for the ETF registration statements before trading can begin.

Since there is no timeframe for the SEC to rule on the exchange filings, it could be months before the spot Ether ETFs begin to trade.