US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) current approach to downplaying the spot Ethereum ETF approval while defining Ethereum as a ‘security’ has received a lot of attention recently. According to Grayscale’s chief legal officer Craig Slam’s recent X post, Greyscale’s case for Ethereum ETF approval is pretty strong.
Grayscale CLO Roots for Spot Ethereum ETF
CLO Craig Salm addressed the ongoing discussions about the spot Ethereum ETFs in his latest statement. Salm believes Ethereum ETFs should be approved despite recent speculations. His main focus was clarifying perceptions about the SEC’s involvement in this matter.
In the X post on 26th March, he said, “Recently, there’s been a lot of chatter about spot Ethereum ETFs. I personally am not deterred by it and believe the ETFs should be approved. But right now I want to talk about how I think perceived “lack of SEC engagement” should be viewed at this point..”
Salm accounted for the disagreeable situation that several entities including Grayscale faced while preparing for Bitcoin ETF approvals. During this period, the precise dialogs covered the procedures, such as creation/redemption, custody and the AP’s and LP’s duties.
He underlined the fact that questions about spot Ethereum ETFs are the same as issues with spot Bitcoin ETFs. The distinctions Mainly being the different types of assets Held, i.e. ETH instead of BTC. As a consequence, he claimed that the SEC had already made its position known on this matter, and thus, there might be less need for a thorough discussion this time round.
Although he kept in mind that his opinion might change until late May 2024, when the final rejection or approval would be issued, Salm emphasized that the lack of sign treatments does not necessarily mean any particular future outcome.
Reasons the spot ETH ETF should be approved
Moreover, Salm added, “I 100% agree w what others like Paul Grewal and Brian Quintenz have said about why spot Ethereum ETFs should be approved: consistency w ETH futures ETFs, regulation of ETH futures as commodity futures (vs. security futures), high correlation btw futures and spot.”
Affirming Grayscale’s support for spot Ethereum ETFs and asserting that the case for them is just as strong as spot Bitcoin ETFs. Now, Grayscale looks forward to more engagement with the watchdog.
Ethereum has once again bounced back from its lows of $3000 following heavy selling last week. As of press time, ETH is trading 6% up at $3,659 with a market cap of $439 billion. Ethereum’s daily trading volume has also surged by a staggering 59% to $20 billion.
