Congressmen on both sides of the aisle are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow exchanges to list an Ether Spot ETF, but the agency must decide on that application today.
“Given the Commission’s actions earlier this year, this seems a natural progression that not only demonstrates the Commission’s consistency in applying its standards, but also confirms the legal basis that drove the Spot Bitcoin ETP decision. ” states a bipartisan letter shared Thursday by Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.).
Co-signers of the letter include Hill, Reps. Tom Emmer (R-MN), Mike Flood (R-NE), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Wiley Nickel (D-NC).
The SEC was reluctant to approve the Bitcoin Spot ETF, but finally relented in January following a decisive court defeat against crypto asset management firm Grayscale on the issue.
At the time, Grayscale's argument was simple. The SEC had already approved the Bitcoin Futures ETF, so rejecting a similar product like the Bitcoin Spot ETF would be arbitrary and capricious, and therefore illegal.
Since an Ethereum futures ETF has already been approved for trading, the same case arguments theoretically apply: “The Commission should apply the same principles in evaluating the pending Ethereum ETP application as it did in approving a spot Bitcoin ETP, since the legal considerations relating to Bitcoin also apply to Ethereum,” the lawmakers wrote.
Lawmakers also called for a fair approach to “other digital assets,” hinting at the possibility of supporting altcoin ETFs following Ethereum.
Until this month, most experts agreed that the SEC would not approve the Spot Ethereum ETF before the May 23 deadline to rule on VanEck's application. However, that changed earlier this week as the SEC began helping exchanges and issuers quickly amend their 19b-4 filings.
This sudden shift in policy has led many to believe that the SEC's decision is political. Earlier this month, the first crypto-only bill for crypto banking passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support, despite criticism from the White House.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan supermajority in the House of Representatives passed Hill’s FIT21 bill, which aims to provide regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies in general, with 71 Democrats voting in favor.
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg ETF Analyst Said He expects the SEC's decision on the Ethereum Spot ETF to be published by 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Edited by Stacey Elliott.
