There has been a significant increase in the number of applications submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for cryptocurrency-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the regulator is yet to take action on them. At least 16 applications for Ether (ETH) or Bitcoin-Ether ETFs have been filed with the regulator, and it is expected that all of them will be approved simultaneously. This comes as a report from the Wall Street Journal claims that as many as 16 ETH futures applications are pending with the SEC. The SEC has not asked any firm to withdraw their application, which is a positive indication. Earlier this week, Valkyrie filed for an ETH futures ETF and is awaiting approval. The constant rise in the number of applications submitted to the SEC suggests a growing interest in cryptocurrency investment products, and the approval of these ETFs could open up new investment opportunities for institutional and retail investors alike.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received a large number of applications from investment management firms combining futures strategies for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) since July. Notably, the regulator has not asked any firm to withdraw their application, which suggests a positive outlook for the applicants. This development indicates a growing interest in cryptocurrency investment products and could potentially open up new opportunities for institutional and retail investors.
Ethereum (ETH) is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a current market capitalization of $200 billion and a market dominance of 19%. ETH is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, which was co-founded by Vitalik Buterin and others. The Ethereum network is widely recognized as the leading platform for decentralized applications and smart contracts, and ETH is the primary token used for transactions and computational services within the ecosystem. As the second-largest cryptocurrency, ETH has a significant impact on the overall cryptocurrency market and is closely watched by investors and traders.
The fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not asked firms to withdraw their applications, unlike in 2021, suggests that the regulator is unlikely to block the launch of the fund in its initial weeks. It is worth noting that a crypto futures ETF does not provide direct exposure to the price action of a digital asset, but rather offers a secondary exposure to the asset’s price movements through futures contracts. This means that the ETF’s value is derived from the price movements of the underlying asset, but it does not actually hold the asset itself.
Earlier this week, Valkyrie, a financial services firm, confirmed that it had filed for an Ether futures ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is awaiting approval, as reported by BitcoinWisdom. According to the filing, Valkyrie will purchase a number of ETH futures contracts, rather than directly investing in Ether (ETH). The company also noted that Ether may be considered a currency or digital commodity, depending on its specific use in particular transactions. Additionally, Ether may be used as a medium of exchange or unit of account.
