SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has not provided a definitive stance on the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs by the agency. In a recent Yahoo Finance interview, he was questioned about the roughly ten companies seeking approval for the spot Ethereum ETF. Additionally, he was asked about his perspective on the summer court decision related to Grayscale and whether he deemed it to set a precedent.
Gensler responded, “I don’t want to prejudge any application, and as you said, we have 10 applications in front of us.”
In November, prominent companies like BlackRock and Fidelity submitted applications for spot Ethereum ETFs, with others such as Franklin Templeton, Ark 21Shares, VanEck, and Grayscale following suit. Some experts are optimistic about the SEC potentially approving a spot Ethereum ETF, pointing to the existing trading of ETH futures ETFs. They also note that Grayscale’s legal victory against the SEC last year might influence the decision.
While the SEC endorsed spot Bitcoin ETFs following a court ruling in Washington over the summer, where three judges compelled the agency to reconsider Grayscale Investments’ spot Bitcoin ETF application, Chairman Gensler emphasized that this approval should be confined to Bitcoin.
Gensler, who previously classified most cryptocurrencies as securities and urged companies to register with the SEC, expressed concerns about the entire crypto space, stating in an interview with Yahoo Finance that “this whole space is rife with abuse and fraud.”
Gensler condemned brokers for consolidating investors’ assets without “adequate disclosures,” emphasizing that they engage in practices that would not be permitted on the New York Stock Exchange.