Digital currency asset manager Grayscale filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late Tuesday for a new ether futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Wall Street Journal first reported.
Grayscale filed the request under the Securities Act of 1993, the same section under which it filed for a Bitcoin spot ETF. The filing is the second time the digital asset manager has filed for an ether futures ETF; it filed the first ether futures ETF under the Investment Company Act of 1940, where most securities-based ETFs are registered.
A Notable Distinction
According to the WSJ, the distinction in the act where Grayscale filed for its new ether futures ETF was worth noting. This is because the SEC approved bitcoin futures ETFs filed under both the Securities Act of 1993 and the Investment Company Act of 1940.
However, the SEC has yet to sanction an ether futures ETF or a bitcoin spot ETF filed under any of the categories. This action has created sentiment among investors that the US top regulator is more susceptible to approving a bitcoin futures ETF than it is to an ether exchange-traded fund. The SEC recently approved a bitcoin futures ETF for BITX, having previously sanctioned it for ProShare.
Several ether futures are lying on the SEC’s table that it is reluctant to approve. Companies like ProShares, VanEck, Volatility Shares, Bitwise, Roundhill, and seven others await an SEC decision on their ether futures ETF filings.
Grayscale Riding on Latest SEC Victory
The Digital Currency Group (DCG) subsidiary seems to be maximizing its recent victory over the SEC in approving a spot bitcoin ETF last month. A court ruling backed Grayscale’s pursuit of the first bitcoin spot ETF, which has lingered for over a year.
The SEC would be under enormous pressure knowing that Grayscale could take legal action against it if it fails to sanction its ether futures ETF filing. ETH futures ETF could be approved as early as October, when the SEC should respond to earlier filings.
