VanEck and ProShares withdrew their applications with the SEC according to a Coindesk report last Friday. Both VanEck and ProShares had filed for ETFs investing primarily in ether futures contracts last Wednesday.
VanEck’s Ethereum Strategy ETF and ProShares’ Ether Strategy ETF both planned on investing in ether futures contracts as well as Canadian ether ETFs, private ether funds, and ETPs with exposure to ether.
VanEck filed for a pure-play ether ETF in May that the SEC has yet to make a decision on.
Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg Eric Balchunas speculated on Twitter that the SEC may have spoken to both firms and indicated the proposals were not likely to be approved. Balchunas went on to say that as long as only ether ETFs withdraw their applications, this is not necessarily bad news for a Bitcoin ETF.
According to Balchunas, the withdrawals could indicate that the SEC is likely to approve a Bitcoin futures ETF and that the withdrawals could be the SEC’s way of taking “baby steps” towards crypto asset investment vehicles.
Both ether and Bitcoin, the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world, are approved for futures trading in the United States. However, Bitcoin has been more widely adopted by both investors and institutions worldwide.
There are currently over a dozen Bitcoin ETF applications currently under review at the SEC, including at least five futures-based products. Both VanEck and ProShares submitted applications for Bitcoin futures ETFs earlier this month.
See Also: Bitcoin Futures ETF: Lucy & The Football
SEC chair Gary Gensler indicated in remarks at the beginning of August that he was particularly interested in the SEC staff’s review of Bitcoin futures ETFs, indicating such filings might be viewed more favorably than ETFs planning to hold cryptocurrencies directly.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Crypto Channel.