Asset management firm Bitwise has amended its S-1 registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade shares of a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund, or ETF.
In a July 3 filing with the SEC, Bitwise amended its Form S-1 registration statement ahead of schedule, including a six-month fee waiver for up to $500 million. The filing did not include a specific launch date for listing and trading on NYSE Arca but said it would be “as soon as practicable after the effective date” of the registration.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Bitwise filed the amended S-1 ahead of a July 8 deadline, suggesting it could begin trading after the Independence Day holiday in the United States. Balchunas said the SEC was “taking [its] sweet time” greenlighting final approvals for the spot Ether ETFs, but “all indications launch still on for this month.”
Bitcoin or Ether?
Since the approval of the spot Ether ETF 19b-4 filings from eight asset managers — including Bitwise — on May 23, crypto-focused investors have been eyeing the SEC for a potential release date. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a June Senate Banking Committee hearing that the commission could sign off on the S-1s “sometime over the course of this summer” but did not provide a specific date.
In contrast to the investment vehicles tied to Ether, the SEC approved 194-b filings for spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs and effective S-1 prospectuses in January. Bitwise filed its S-1 with the SEC for shares of a spot Ether ETF in March amid speculation that the regulator was considering labeling ETH a security — court filings from June suggested that the commission subsequently dropped the matter.