SEC Likely to Reject Spot Ether ETFs in May, Says Van Eck

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) faces a May deadline to decide on the approval of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including applications from asset managers Vaneck and Ark Invest led by Cathie Wood. Several spot bitcoin ETF issuers, including Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Fidelity, have also filed to launch a spot ether ETF.

Vaneck CEO Jan Van Eck told CNBC at the Paris Blockchain Week event Tuesday that he does not expect the SEC to approve spot ether ETF applications in May. He said:

We were the first to file as well for ethereum in the U.S., and we and Ark, Cathie Wood, are kind of the first in line for May, I guess, to probably be rejected.

“The way the legal process goes is the regulators will give you comments on your application, and that happened for weeks and weeks before the bitcoin ETFs, and right now, pins are dropping as far as Ethereum is concerned,” Van Eck added.

The prospects for SEC approval of spot ether ETFs are facing increasing doubt. JPMorgan, for example, said last week that the SEC will likely approve spot ethereum ETFs after it rejects the applications in May and faces subsequent litigation, similar to what happened with the Grayscale Investments and Ripple legal battles last year.

Coinshares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti also expressed pessimism about the likelihood of such approval in the near future. He told CNBC on Tuesday: “We are observing the ethereum decision very, very closely.” Indicating that it may be difficult for a proof-of-stake protocol to gain SEC approval, he opined:

I don’t see anything being approved this side of the year.