No Voting, No Commenting: Ethereum Spot ETF Fast Track Passage, Commission Still Able to Request Review
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially approved the 19b-4 form for eight Ethereum spot ETFs this morning. However, unlike the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF, which was passed by a 3:2 vote by the internal five commissioners, including SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the approval of the Ethereum spot ETFs is authorized by the Division of Trading and Markets, and the commissioners will not comment on matters outside the order.
Authorized Approval! Can Commissioners Request Review?
Accelerated Approval, Commissioners Do Not Comment
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes that the approval of the Ethereum spot ETFs was done through authorization, meaning there was no public commissioner vote. However, this also means that any commissioner (perhaps Caroline Crenshaw, who previously voted against the Bitcoin spot ETF) can technically raise questions and request a review and vote.
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Caroline Crenshaw not only voted against it initially but also issued a formal statement expressing concerns about the approval, fearing that Bitcoin ETFs will flood U.S. households’ retirement accounts, leaving these families unable to bear the financial losses caused by the widespread fraud and manipulation in the Bitcoin market.
Admitting that the ETF was approved due to the loss in the Grayscale lawsuit, Gary Gensler stated that it is by no means an endorsement of Bitcoin.
Accelerated Approval, Commissioners Do Not Comment
However, Seyffart also points out that requesting a review will not change any decisions. It will only allow us to have a deeper understanding of what happened, and the only possibility, in his opinion, is “political factors”!
Making decisions through authorization is normal and common practice. After all, it would be too crazy for the SEC to require a formal vote on every decision or document.
And according to the SEC’s documents, this approval was authorized by the Division of Trading and Markets and was “accelerated” for various reasons. In addition, the commissioners will not comment on matters outside the order.
James Seyffart
SEC
Ethereum spot ETFs
Further Reading
Coinbase Strikes Back at SEC with New Appeal, Citing Passage of FIT21 by the House
With the Approval of Ethereum Spot ETFs, Will More Competing Coins be Classified as Commodities Instead of Securities?