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ARTICLE · 03 JUNE 2024

SEC Approves Listings Of Spot Ether ETFs: Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Mayer Brown
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On May 23, 2024, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets (the "SEC") approved rule changes...

United StatesTechnology
Brandon Birdsall
Brandon Birdsall
Joseph A. Castelluccio
Joseph A. Castelluccio
Anna T. Pinedo
Anna T. Pinedo
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On May 23, 2024, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets (the “SEC”) approved rule changes (so-called “19b-4 forms”) permitting the listing and trading of eight separate exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that invest in ether, the main crypto asset supporting the Ethereum blockchain.1 This approval comes just a few months after spot bitcoin ETFs were approved by the SEC and began trading in the United States. However, the approval does not mean these ETFs will be immediately open to investors or traded in the United States.

In this alert, we look at several key questions related to these spot ether ETFs, including when they may start trading and what this means for future crypto-related investment products.

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