Key Points
- The U.S. SEC has approved Bitwise’s combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, a significant step towards public trading.
- The next step for public trading is the regulator’s sign-off on the S-1 form (registration statement).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given its approval to Bitwise’s combined Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).
This approval represents the first necessary step for the ETF to be publicly traded. The approval was given on January 30th through the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
What’s Next?
The next step towards public trading is the SEC’s approval of the S-1 form, which is a registration statement.
James Seyffart, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, noted that Bitwise’s approval process has been accelerated, coinciding with its first deadline. This follows similar approvals for Hashdex and Franklin Templeton filings.
Eric Balchunas, another Bloomberg ETF analyst, stated that Bitwise’s approval came quicker than expected, taking 45 days instead of the typical 240.
Looking Forward
Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, views this as a significant step towards full index-based and actively managed spot crypto ETFs.
However, it’s worth noting that the previous SEC regime delayed the decision on some crypto index funds, such as Grayscale Digital Large Cap and Bitwise 10 Crypto Index, until early February and March respectively.
Seyffart added that there have been some movements with the S-1 form, suggesting that the combined BTC and ETH ETFs could start trading soon.