VanEck’s Ethereum ETF, which tracks the price of Ether, has been listed on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) as “ETHV.” The DTCC is a major American financial market infrastructure provider that handles clearing, settlement, and transaction reporting services. This listing on the DTCC is an important step towards gaining approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the ETF is currently inactive on the DTCC website and cannot be processed until regulatory approvals are obtained.
It’s worth noting that this is not the first Ether ETF listed by the DTCC. Franklin Templeton’s spot ETH ETF was listed on the platform a month earlier. The DTCC’s ETF list includes both active ETFs that can be processed and ETFs that are not yet active and therefore cannot be processed.
Recent reports suggest that SEC officials have been in touch with Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange to update and modify existing spot Ether ETF applications. This change in the SEC’s stance is believed to be influenced by political factors, with cryptocurrency gaining support in recent months. Some speculate that former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of cryptocurrency may have prompted the Biden administration to reevaluate its policy.
The SEC has a final deadline of May 23 to make a decision on VanEck’s spot Ether ETF application. After months of speculation about potential denials, the SEC has taken action by requesting financial managers to amend and refile their filings for proposed spot Ether ETFs. This move has been seen as a positive sign, with one Bloomberg ETF analyst increasing the likelihood of approval to 75%.
Fidelity, another financial company, has also filed an amended application with the SEC for its spot Ether ETF. The updated application states that the underlying Ether tokens of the ETF will not be staked. S-1 filings, which are mandatory registration forms, are required by the SEC for launching publicly traded securities products in the United States.
The speculation surrounding the approval of spot Ether ETFs has also had a positive effect on spot Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust saw a substantial inflow of $290 million on May 21, marking a reversal in the trend of minimal inflows observed in recent weeks.
On May 21, the price of Bitcoin reached a six-week high of $71,600, but it has since dropped below $70,000 during early trading on May 22. It is currently trading at $69,444 at the time of writing.