The Spot Ether ETF Decision in Five Voters’ Hands; SEC Chair’s Role?

After several shifts, five SEC commissioners will approve or deny VanEck’s spot Ether ETF on May 23. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems ready to decide to approve or disapprove VanEck’s spot Ether Exchange-traded Fund (ETF). Five SEC members, including Gary Gensler, the Chair of the SEC, are set to cast their votes on May 23.

Spot Ether ETF Decision’s Deadline Approaching

The long-awaited decision on VanEck’s spot Ether (ETH) ETF application seems to hit a final judgment on May 23 with the voting of five SEC commissioners. Interestingly, the same five SEC Commissioners who cast their vote for spot Bitcoin(BTC) ETF will be part of spot Ether ETF.  

At the press time, ETH was trading at $3,106.15 with a market cap of $373,174,154,970, and BTC was hovering at $67,208.38 with a market cap of $1,323,939,260,324.

TOBTC shared the details on X (Formerly Twitter), expecting Gary Gensler’s vote, potentially being the deciding vote.   

Apart from VanEck’s application, ARK Investment Management’s filing with 21Shares is also pending for May 24, just a single day after VanEck’s. However, crypto analysts have no clue about the SEC’s final judgment. 

“There is a lack of correspondence between the SEC and VanEck, and application approval would be astonished,” said Ric Edelman, head of the Digital Asset Council of Financial Professionals.

Members Involved In The Spot Bitcoin ETFs

This week, Gary Gensler might decide whether to approve or disapprove the spot Ether ETF. Earlier in January, five SEC commissioners looked at a similar fund for Bitcoin. 

Hester Pierce and Mark Uyeda, who support cryptocurrencies, said yes to it. On the other hand, Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizárraga disagreed with it. 

Ultimately, Gary Gensler’s vote was the deciding one, and he voted yes. The Spot Bitcoin ETF got the green light on January 10, 2024, with a final score of 3-2.

How The News Influenced Ethereum’s Price?

The news on Spot Ether ETF from the SEC’s office formed waves in Ethereum prices. 

According to CoinMarketCap, On May 20, after falling to $3,053.27, ETH hit $3,132.93 within a few hours and maintained its bullish behavior.  ETH was trading at $3,063.46 on May 19. 

Ethereum Price Chart I Source: CoinMarketCap 

The pending Spot Ether ETF decision on May 23 and the Court’s ruling on ETH operation boosted investors’s confidence. According to the court, the Ethereum blockchain can operate as a decentralized blockchain without requiring any trusted intermediary.   

Steefan George

Steefan George is a crypto and blockchain enthusiast, with a remarkable grasp on market and technology. Having a graduate degree in computer science and an MBA in BFSI, he is an excellent technology writer at The Coin Republic. He is passionate about getting a billion of the human population onto Web3. His principle is to write like “explaining to a 6-year old”, so that a layman can learn the potential of, and get benefitted from this revolutionary technology.