Ethereum futures ETF likely to arrive in the United States before a spot Bitcoin fund

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is more likely to approve ETF based on Ethereum futures than grant permission to launch an exchange-traded fund that directly holds Bitcoin. The view was expressed by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart.

“Most market participants agree that a spot Bitcoin ETF would be better than existing futures, but SEC approval could be delayed until the end of 2022 and even later,” the expert said.

In his assessment, an Ethereum futures ETF could receive a regulator’s ‘green light’ as early as the first quarter of next year.

The emergence of such an investment product would not be surprising, said Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of the crypto exchange FTX.

In October the SEC approved a bitcoin futures ETF. The pioneer was ProShares Bitcoin Strategy, whose shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 19.

Three days later the market saw a similar investment product from Valkyrie Investments. The fund’s securities are trading on Nasdaq.

Meanwhile the company awaits the regulator’s decision on its application to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. Valkyrie’s prospectus was filed with the SEC in January 2021. In November the Commission once again extended the timeline for its review — now until January next year.

“While a spot Bitcoin ETF may be possible in 2022, SEC approval could take longer due to concerns about regulating the underlying cryptocurrency market,” Seyffart said.

Analysts at Arcane Research also were skeptical about the chances of launching such a product in the near term.

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