Thomas Daniels
Supporters of spot Ethereum ETFs scored a significant victory during a Senate hearing, as SEC Chair Gary Gensler confirmed that applications are progressing.
Addressing a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler hinted that full regulatory approval for spot Ether (ETH) ETFs could be finalized by the end of September. Speaking at the June 13 budget hearing, Gensler noted that the final set of filings, known as S-1s or registration of securities, has reached staff review. Last month, the SEC approved proposed rule changes to list spot ETH ETFs, also known as 19b-4.
Despite confirming that Ethereum ETFs will likely commence trading soon, Gensler remained non-committal on Ether’s asset classification. The SEC Chair did not explicitly state whether the largest decentralized finance native token is a commodity or a security. Contrarily, Rostin Behnam, Gensler’s counterpart at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has a clear stance. When asked if Ether should be classified as a commodity, Behnam affirmed, “Yes.”
While experts have noted that issuers filed spot ETH ETF bids in a manner suggesting they are non-securities, the official regulatory approach to the asset remains ambiguous. The removal of all staking language from applications implies that Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism is under SEC scrutiny.
The SEC has initiated multiple enforcement actions and sent Wells Notices to Ethereum-adjacent entities like Consensys and Uniswap, reinforcing Gensler’s cautious stance. However, given recent political developments, further inquiries into Ether’s underlying technology may be stalled.
