The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly given “preliminary approval” to at least three asset managers for their spot Ether exchange-traded funds, adding fuel to speculation that the ETFs will begin trading as early as next Tuesday.
The SEC’s approval now depends only on applicants filing final offering documents with the regulator by the end of this week, “three industry sources” told Reuters in a July 15 report.
Applicants included BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and VanEck, the sources said.
Fidelity, ARK 21Shares, Grayscale, Bitwise and Invesco Galaxy are also set to launch their Ether products next week.
One of those sources told Reuters that all eight spot Ether (ETH) ETFs are expected to launch simultaneously, in a manner similar to how the SEC handled the spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.
Cointelegraph reached out to BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and VanEck, but did not immediately receive a response.
This comes as the SEC has reportedly issued final instructions to asset managers preparing to launch Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The Commission has ordered issuers to file their final S-1 filings by July 16, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balcunhas.
Balchunas noted that all applicants must disclose the fee associated with their spot Ether ETFs when they file their amended S-1 applications this week.
He also expects the SEC to officially approve the S-1s after the close of business next Monday, allowing the spot Ether ETFs to officially begin trading on Tuesday, July 23.
Gary Gensler’s committee provided its first round of feedback on the S-1 filings in late June, about five weeks after the SEC approved the 19b-4 filings on May 23.
Related: Ether Could Surpass Bitcoin After Spot ETF Launch: Kaiko
The Reuters report echoes recent comments from Bitwise Chief Compliance Officer Katherine Dowling, who said there are “decreasingly fewer issues” that have been going back and forth between issuers and the SEC regarding the amended S-1 filings.
“That indicates that all signs point to us being close. We’re close to the launch finish line,” Dowling said on July 9.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan speculated that the spot Ether ETFs could attract as much as $15 billion in inflows in their first 18 months of trading — roughly the same amount as spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed since their launch six months ago.
If approved, spot Ether ETFs will be listed on the Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
Ether is currently trading at $3,484, up 6.7% over the past 24 hours.
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