Sokipiriye Dokubo
Speculation on the potential launch date of Ethereum (ETH) ETFs has risen as applicants have made amendments to their registration statements. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has made a prediction, suggesting a possible launch date of July 18. However, uncertainties surrounding SEC plans make it challenging to accurately predict the launch date.
Recent amendments to the registration statements were described as minimal by Balchunas, with specific focus on early filings. While the SEC requested applications to be submitted by a certain date, they did not require fee declarations at this stage. Balchunas outlined the next steps towards approval, anticipating feedback from the SEC on the game plan, followed by completed documents with filled fees and other details.
The latest S-1 and S-3 amendments pertain to the issuance of ETFs by asset managers, differing from the previously approved 19b-4 filings that enable exchanges to list and trade the funds post-launch.
Filings from six asset managers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, 21Shares, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck, were amended. Details on seed investments were included, such as Franklin Templeton’s purchase of 4,000 shares at $25 per share, and VanEck’s acquisition of 2,929 ETH from seed creation basket sale proceeds.
VanEck and BlackRock disclosed waivers, with VanEck waiving sponsor fees for the first $1.5 billion over a year, and BlackRock purchasing ETH with its proceeds. Bitwise introduced a six-month waiver, while Franklin Templeton maintained a waiver for $10 billion. No new sponsor fees were introduced by any of the applicants.
In other news, VanEck revealed that Cboe had proposed a rule change to list and trade its spot Solana (SOL) ETF, which is separate from the Solana S-1 registration submitted earlier.