Optimism surrounding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of Ethereum spot ETFs by May 23 is diminishing.
In a recent post on X, Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed that influential anti-cryptocurrency politicians, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, are actively opposing the passage of ETH spot ETFs, while SEC staff members have shown limited engagement in promoting the product.
“Based on my conversations with people familiar, meetings in recent weeks have been very much one sided,” she wrote on Sunday.
While the industry stakeholders have been trying to rally SEC staff to expedite the process, staff members have not shown meaningful engagement as they did with Bitcoin spot ETF applications.
SEC Believes it has Satisfied Crypto Industry with Bitcoin ETFs
According to Terrett, SEC Chair Gary Gensler believes that he has already appeased the industry with the approval of BTC spot ETFs.
Additionally, influential anti-crypto politicians, such as Senator Warren, who were already displeased with the SEC’s approval of BTC ETFs, are rallying against a similar outcome for ETH.
According to a source mentioned by Terrett, gauging the stance of the SEC staff has been challenging, leaving uncertainty about their thought process.
However, the source emphasized that if the ETH spot ETF has any chance of approval, SEC staff will need to commence their work soon, considering the May 23 deadline is just over two months away.
“But they’re going to have to start work soon if it’s going to have a shot.”
🚨SCOOP: Optimism about the @SECGov approving the $ETH spot ETFs by May 23rd is waning.
Based on my conversations with people familiar, meetings in recent weeks have been very much one sided, with issuers and custodians trying to rally SEC staff to get the process rolling, but…
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) March 10, 2024
Back in January, Senator Warren critcized the SEC after the agency greenlighted spot Bitcoin ETFs.
“If the SEC is going to let crypto burrow even deeper into our financial system, then it’s more urgent than ever that crypto follow basic anti-money laundering rules,” she said at the time.
Gensler Remains Silent About ETH ETFs
When questioned about the possibility of a decision and the timeline for ETH ETF approval last month, Gensler said that the process would follow the same approach as Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.
Still, he refrained from providing any specific details or a potential timeframe.
On February 6, the SEC postponed its decision on the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF, which followed a delay in December concerning Invesco’s ETF application.
The SEC has also deferred decisions on other Ethereum ETF applications, including those from prominent firms like Grayscale, Fidelity, and BlackRock, the largest asset management company globally.
Notably, other firms such as VanEck and Hashdex are also seeking Ethereum ETF approvals, with Franklin Templeton becoming the latest asset manager to file a spot Ethereum ETF application.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based institutions are actively preparing to launch spot ETFs for Ethereum in a bid to gain an edge over the United States.
It is worth noting that demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US has remained strong since their launch.
The cumulative net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs surpassed $2.24 billion last week, propelling the price of Bitcoin to reach new all-time highs.
The total asset under management of Bitcoin ETFs currently stands at $55.34 billion.