Scott Johnsson, a lawyer with a keen eye on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) moves, recently threw out a zinger on Twitter. He’s betting the SEC will give the nod to an Ethereum ETF (spot Exchange-Traded Fund) soon sometime in May. If not, he reckons we’re looking at a timeline stretching to mid-2025.
Johnsson recalls how the SEC got the ball rolling with Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETFs. On September 29, 2023, they kicked off by sending out initial comments on the ETF registration statements. Fast forward about two weeks, and bam, amended S-1 forms started popping up. This hustle happened with a solid 90 days to spare before the January 10 deadline.
Now, with the clock ticking down another 90 days to a May 23 deadline for ETH spot ETFs, Johnsson senses a pattern. Yet, he’s quick to flag that the SEC might switch gears from the BTC timeline, including possibly pushing the S-1 comment phase past the 19b-4 approval. But hey, it’s all part of the game.
Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, chimed in, thinks the SEC won’t have to sweat as much over the ETH paperwork compared to Bitcoin’s. The groundwork laid by BTC could give ETH’s application a leg up, making the whole ordeal a tad easier.
Johnsson’s on board with Seyffart’s take. He reckons things could move faster this round, hinting that the current silence might be the calm before the storm. Yet, he’s not banking on the SEC to start dishing out comments before giving the green light on the 19b-4 approval, keeping a slice of uncertainty on the table.
Cue in the peanut gallery, where a random tweeter muses that a mid-2025 approval might not be too shabby. It could give folks more time to get the hype train rolling, banking on the surety of approval. Johnsson, tapping into this wavelength, thinks it could even sprinkle a bit of drama into the election season.
Another user pokes at the idea that the SEC might not need to get as chatty this time around since the approval criteria have been somewhat ironed out. Johnsson nods along, marking it as a “reasonable assumption.”
So there you have it. The scene is set, the players are ready, and the crypto community is buzzing with anticipation. Will the SEC follow the script laid out by BTC’s journey, or will they throw a curveball? It’ll be fun to watch.
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