SEC Commissioner Says ETH ETFs May See Approval Without Going to Court

• SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce said spot ETH ETF application may see approval without court intervention. 
• The commissioner said the regulator would apply similar consideration used for traditional ETFs to crypto funds. 
• BlackRock, VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Fidelity, and Grayscale are among ETH ETF applicants.

Hopes of an easier road to approval for spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have risen following a statement from US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Pierce. 

In an interview with Coinage posted on X (formerly Twitter), the commissioner stated that the regulator will take a different approach to spot Ethereum ETF applications. Importantly, she suggested issuers filing for the ETFs may see approval without relying on a court decision. 

“We shouldn’t need a court to tell us that our approach is arbitrary and capricious in order for us to get it right. So I certainly hope that wouldn’t be the case,” she remarked. “That’s not how we’re going to do our approvals … I think that kind of a lesson will certainly stick with us.”

Instead, the commissioner suggested the SEC start treating spot crypto ETFs like traditional funds. “We need to be applying ‘regular way’ consideration to these products, the same kind of consideration we apply to similar products,” she stated. 

Speculations around a spot Ethereum ETF rose following the launch of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States on January 11. The general chatter in the crypto market is that Ethereum’s regulatory clarity puts it in the same standing as Bitcoin. 

However, there are concerns that spot Ethereum ETF applications may face similar challenges with regulatory authorities. Pierce’s statements, which are sure to stoke excitement among crypto ETF enthusiasts, suggest that an approval for the funds may not be riddled with such issues. 

“There’s a lot of work that goes into getting an exchange-traded product ready for market, including making sure that the disclosures are lining up with how the product actually works,” Peirce said. Spot Ether ETF applicants competing for SEC approval include BlackRock, VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Fidelity and Invesco Galaxy, Grayscale, and Hashdex.

Meanwhile, Fox journalist Eleanor Terret shared a similar optimism in a recent post on X. Terret said a BTC spot issuer with an ETH spot ETF application expressed confidence about an approval. The issuer expects the smooth launch of the Bitcoin funds to compel the SEC to approve ETH spot ETFs.