The race for the United States’ first spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund has officially begun after new 19b-4 filings by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), which will “ultimately start the clock” for an SEC decision.
On Sept. 6, the CBOE filed two 19b-4 applications to the United States securities regulator, requesting for the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF and VanEck Ethereum ETF investment products to be listed on CBOE’s BZX Exchange.
In a series of tweets, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that as opposed to the previously submitted S-1 filings, the 19b-4 filings mean that the countdown for a decision by the SEC is now in motion.
“The Spot #Ethereum ETF Race is officially on,” Seyffart declared, estimating a final deadline around May 23, 2024.
The Spot #Ethereum ETF Race is officially on. It’s early but i’d estimate a final deadline on these applications to be around ~May 23, 2024.
Notably, we didn’t see a VanEck spot Ethereum ETF S-1 from VanEck earlier because they filed for this thing all the way back in 2021!! pic.twitter.com/jLve8PpPrE
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 6, 2023
A 19b-4 form is filed by self-regulatory organizations — such as a stock exchange — to request a rule change to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, while an S-1 filing only indicates a firm’s intention to list a particular investment product on a national exchange.
The securities regulator is now obligated to review the 19b-4 filings and make a decision, though the SEC can also delay the decision as it has for spot Bitcoin ETFs.
ARK Invest and 21Shares teamed up to file an S-1 to the SEC on Sept. 6, though VanEck’s S-1 filing dates back to July 2021.
Late to the party? We filed our S-1 for a Spot Ether ETF back on 5/7/2021. https://t.co/hYE6TG90Q3
— VanEck (@vaneck_us) September 6, 2023
Meanwhile, Seyffart expects more spot Ethereum ETF filings to come in the coming days.
How long before we see a 19b-4 from @Grayscale to convert $ETHE…
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