SEC Chair 'Envisions' Some Ether Spot ETF Approvals Over the Summer

Spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be a reality soon.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday that he "envisions" SEC approvals for some ETFs applications over the summer, after his regulatory body last month approved the overall listing of such products by exchanges.

Despite Gensler's comments, ether was down 2.8% at 1:36 p.m. ET Thursday, amid general weakness in the cryptocurrency markets.

When Will Ether ETFs Get Approval

While ether ETFs, as products that can be listed on exchanges were cleared by the SEC last month, Gensler explained that the next step is for each individual issuer to get their registration statement or S-1 approved.

"Individual issuers still are working through the registration process that's working smoothly," said Gensler, adding that approvals could follow once the required registration and disclosures process is complete.

"I would envision that sometime over the course of the summer," he said.

A previous report from Galaxy Digital also indicated an expectation of spot ether ETF approvals by the end of August.

Ether has been at the center of a perceived regulatory reversal on crypto at the SEC in recent weeks, as the approval for spot ether ETFs listing on U.S. exchanges came as a surprise.

Gensler Still Won't Say If Ether's A Commodity

During the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing regarding 2025 budgets for the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Gensler and CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam were both asked by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) whether ether, the underlying cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, is a commodity.

Behnam reiterated the CFTC's stance that ether is a commodity, but Gensler didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he spoke of the SEC's approval of spot ether ETFs and how that process is coming along.