Spot ETH ETF Approvals Slated For This Summer, SEC Chair Gary Gensler Says

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler expects Spot ETH ETFs to be approved sometime this summer, the federal regulator claimed in testimony before the Senate Appropriation Committee on Thursday morning.When asked by Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) about when spot ETH ETFs would be approved, Gensler stated he “would envision sometime over the course of this summer.”

SEC Chair Gary Gensler Sets Spot ETH ETF Approval For This Summer

While the SEC Chair noted that “individual issuers still are working through the registration process,” he claimed that the spot ETH ETF approval process was going altogether “smoothly.”“If you’re indicating to me that those applications will be approved by the end of the summer, then I appreciate that,” Hagerty said.Gensler was apprehensive about fully solidifying an approval date for the long-awaited ETF, however, claiming that each applicant’s registration statements “have to have the proper disclosures” before they can become effective.“It’s this disclosure-based regime we have at the SEC and I would say that largely the crypto field has been thumbing its nose at it and has been non-compliant,” he continued.

Gensler Slams Crypto Sector’s Regulatory “Non-Compliance”

Applicants are currently awaiting a decision on their S-1 forms. The basic registration form is the last one required before approval by the federal regulator following the May 23 authorization of spot ETH ETF hopefuls’ 19b-4 forms.“Will be interested to see changes in next batch of amended S-1s,” ETF specialist Nate Geraci posted to X. “There can’t be *that* much work left to do.”

SEC Chair Gensler says he envisions spot eth ETF S-1s likely approved by end of summer…

So that can be whenever.

Will be interested to see changes in next batch of amended S-1s. There can't be *that* much work left to do. https://t.co/lGgNMj0Erw

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) June 13, 2024

Gensler, who has long been known for his regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets, did nothing to counteract his stringent reputation while testifying to the Senate committee regarding his agency’s federal budget.

“This is a field that’s not serving the public well right now,” he said of the crypto industry.

In particular, the SEC Chair criticized the prevalence of co-mingling financial activity at exchanges across the digital asset sector while working against customers’ best interests.

“It’s very common what happened at FTX, but that is not unique,” Gensler continued. “It’s happened in multiple places. There’s this co-mingling with the intermediaries presenting themselves as exchanges but they’re doing an awful lot of other things to put their interests ahead of their customers.”

Regardless, the regulator’s scrutiny of the blockchain industry has yet to stop exchange-traded products rooted in crypto from undergoing the federal agency’s authorization process.