Bitwise, an asset management firm, has updated its registration statement for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF), revealing a potential $100 million investment upon the ETF’s launch. The filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 18 stated that Pantera Capital Management has expressed interest in purchasing up to $100 million worth of Shares in the ETF.
The document clarified that these indications of interest are not binding agreements and the potential purchasers may choose to buy more, less, or no Shares at all. A Form S-1 is a crucial document submitted to the SEC before a security can start trading, containing detailed information on financials, operations, and risk analysis.
Bitwise’s Form S-1 filing is a significant step towards the approval process for the spot Ether ETFs to be publicly traded, a development that SEC Chair Gary Gensler predicts will occur “sometime over the course of this summer.” While the SEC approved 19b-4 filings from eight Ether ETF applicants on May 23, Form S-1 approvals are required before the ETFs can be listed on U.S. exchanges.
In a related event, the SEC concluded its investigation into whether Ether is considered a security on the same day Bitwise made its amended filing. Ethereum developer Consensys announced on June 19 that the SEC’s Enforcement Division has closed its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. This decision means that the SEC will not pursue charges alleging that sales of ETH are securities transactions.
In other news, Ethereum’s recent price decline could be seen as an opportunity according to Dynamo DeFi and X Hall of Flame.