The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has “fast-tracked” the registration of a combined spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on digital gold and Ethereum by Bitwise.
The Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF will be listed on the NYSE Arca.
The product will hold BTC and ETH in proportion to their market capitalization, as well as cash.
Previously, the SEC approved similar instruments from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton.
On January 21, REX Shares, a digital asset division of Osprey Funds, submitted a proposal to launch a series of products based on Ethereum, Solana, XRP, BONK, TRUMP, and DOGE.
Two days later, Bitwise filed an application to register a DOGE-based instrument with the Delaware Department of State’s Division of Corporations. Asset managers typically establish legal entities in the state before approaching the SEC with such initiatives.
In December, YouHodler exchange’s top manager Ruslan Lienkha highlighted the potential for including staking in an Ethereum-ETF. Bernstein holds a similar view.
In January, the Commission began reviewing Nasdaq’s proposal to launch a Litecoin-based exchange-traded fund by Canary Capital.
The SEC is also focused on five applications for a Solana-ETF from VanEck, 21Shares, Canary, Bitwise, and Grayscale. Additionally, in November, Bitwise and 21Shares filed documents to launch spot XRP products.
Industry experts are optimistic about the prospects for approval of new crypto-ETFs in the U.S., pointing to personnel changes in the government and the departure of the agency’s former head, Gary Gensler. In January, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce was appointed head of the agency’s digital assets task force.