VanEck, an investment manager, took a step closer to live trading for its spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) by filing form 8-A with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25.
Following this updated filing, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas speculated that spot Ether (ETH) ETFs could be available for trading as early as July 2, 2024. His prediction was based on VanEck’s 8-A filing for its Bitcoin ETF, which was followed by the investment fund’s launch on the market seven days later.
Earlier in June, Balchunas had predicted an early July ETF launch window, attributing this to the lack of significant commentary from SEC staff on the ETF applicants’ S-1 filings. He suggested that the lack of commentary indicated a potential to expedite the listing process, as the regulator had not identified major issues with the ETF offerings.
However, SEC Chair Gary Gensler expressed the opposite sentiment, claiming that listing Ether ETFs on stock exchanges could take months and may not happen until September 2024. He put the onus of the Ether ETF listings on the applicants and claimed the process depends entirely on their response times.
The approval of a spot Ether ETF in the United States came as a surprise to many and represents a radical departure from the policies of the current administration, as suggested by Balchunas. The 2024 election year has brought cryptocurrencies into sharper focus as presidential candidates across the board attempt to appeal to pro-crypto voters.
Roughly 52 million Americans hold crypto, making pro-crypto voters a palpable voting bloc in American elections, according to the Stand With Crypto political action committee (PAC). The PAC also announced that it had reached a significant milestone, garnering 1 million advocate signatures from the public.
Taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to the blockchain industry during an election year, several initiatives have been mobilized by industry executives to galvanize the voting public, including the recent announcement that the Gemini exchange would facilitate donations to pro-crypto candidates and the creation of the Bitcoin Voter Project, a Bitcoin (BTC) education and awareness nonprofit group.