According to Bloomberg analysts, Ethereum futures ETFs (exchange-traded funds) could start trading for the first time in the United States as early as next week. This comes just a few hours after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed decisions on Ark Invest and VanEck ETH spot ETF applications.
Why Ethereum Futures ETFs Could Launch Next Week
On September 28, Bloomberg Analyst Eric Balchunas said – via a post on X (formerly Twitter) – he was hearing that the SEC wants to accelerate the launch of Ether futures ETFs. Balchunas stated that the commission wants it “off their plate” before the potential US government shutdown.
The United States government faces a possible partial shutdown at 12:01 a.m. ET on October 1 if Congress fails to pass spending bills for the coming fiscal year, potentially affecting most government agencies’ non-essential operations.
The Bloomberg analyst claims that, in anticipation of this scenario, various Ethereum futures ETF applicants have been asked to update their documents by Friday afternoon in order to commence trading as early as Tuesday, the 3rd of October.
James Seyffart, another Bloomberg ETF analyst, responded to Balchunas’ revelation, saying that it appears that “the SEC is gonna let a bunch of Ethereum futures ETFs go next week potentially.” It is worth noting that neither of the analysts divulged their sources for this latest development.
According to an earlier note from the analysts, there are 15 ETH futures ETFs from at least nine issuers awaiting the SEC’s approval. In their analysis, Balchunas and Seyffart put forward a 90% chance of Ethereum futures ETFs launching in early October.
The note read:
Ethereum futures ETFs have a 90% chance of launching in October, we believe, with Valkyrie’s Bitcoin futures ETF (BTF) poised to become the first to hold Ethereum exposure on Oct. 3 after a strategy change. We expect pure Ethereum futures ETFs to start trading the following week thanks to Volatility Shares” actions.
While spot remains in limbo, Ether futures ETFs highly likely (90% odds) to start rolling out in early Oct. Valkyrie first (albeit with a btc + eth ETF) followed by dozen+ straight ether futures ETFs. Gonna be a wild race albeit w/ much lower stakes than spot via @JSeyff pic.twitter.com/no8kP5DTZt
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) September 27, 2023
Spot Ethereum ETFs In Limbo?
Before this latest update on ETH futures ETFs emerged, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission had pushed the deadlines for ARK 21Shares and VanEck’s Ether spot ETF applications. In separate filings, the commission stated that it would designate a longer period on whether to take action on a proposed rule change for the listings of these Ethereum spot ETFs.
The SEC said:
The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also mentioned that it received no public comments on either proposal. Meanwhile, it set December 25 (for VanEck) and December 26 (for ARK 21Shares) as the new deadline for another delay or decision on the Ethereum spot ETFs.
The approval of an ETH spot exchange-traded fund is highly anticipated due to its potential positive impact on the Ethereum price, which has been struggling in the past few weeks. As of this writing, Ether is valued at $1,617, reflecting a 1.6% price jump in the past 24 hours.
Ethereum price shows signs of recovery on the daily timeframe | Source: TOTAL chart on TradingView