VanEck Throws Down the Gauntlet: First to File, First to Launch Ether ETF?

• VanEck pushes for first-to-file advantage in ether ETF race.
• SEC faces calls for fair assessment as multiple firms vie for approval.
• The SEC is set to make its decision on the ETH ETF on May 23.

Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research, asserted to the SEC that the first firm to file for the first ether ETF should be the first firm to launch it. 

This benefits VanEck, the New-York-based fund group, which manages $100 billion in assets. It filed for a spot ether ETF in the US in 2021 and then refiled in July 2023. 

The SEC had 240 days to review VanEck’s application, which means the regulator was expected to rule by May 21; one day before the Ark Invest/21Shares proposal. Ark Invest is one of several firms seeking to launch Ether ETFs, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, Invesco, and Hashdex.

Over the past few weeks, the SEC, stock exchanges, and fund issuers have extensively engaged. A Tuesday X post came from VanEck: “SEC comments rolling in.”

Sigel, speaking at an X Space on Wednesday, made VanEck’s case: 

“VanEck was the first to file our S-1 for this spot ethereum ETF, and we fully expect to get our comments back first and go first. The SEC should let their process work and make that happen. The comments rolling in for me is a good sign.”

The first-come, first-served principle is the only fair one, as the VanEck executive emphasized. Sigel added that he fundamentally disagreed “with the whole lining everyone up and saying go at the same time; that’s never how the process works,” adding that it “just always pits the incumbents over the smaller entrants.”The price of Ethereum (ETH) has been on the rise since the chances of approval of spot ETH ETFs were increased by analysts from 25% to 75%.