The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved crypto asset manager Grayscale's mini Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The green light came on Wednesday, along with approval for asset manager ProShares' Ethereum ETF.
The SEC had unexpectedly said yes in May to proposals from Grayscale and a long list of other asset managers to launch spot Ethereum ETFs.
Grayscale's initial proposal was to convert its longstanding Grayscale Ethereum Trust into a spot Ethereum ETF. That crypto fund currently operates like a closed-end fund, where it is harder to redeem shares.
It then filed for its mini trust, which would be seeded with assets currently backing the bigger ETF.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said on X (aka Twitter) that the mini fund “should help alleviate some of the likely Grayscale outflows” anticipated from the conversion of the larger fund.
“Grayscale is excited to share that the SEC has approved Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust's Form 19b-4,” Grayscale said in a statement to Decrypt. “The Grayscale team continues to engage constructively with SEC staff, as we seek full regulatory approval for U.S. spot Ethereum ETPs, and we will share more information, as appropriate.”
Seyffart predicted that the fund would now likely start trading alongside the other products next week. Sources on Monday confirmed to Decrypt that the Ethereum ETFs would likely start trading on July 23.
In a landmark moment for the crypto industry last year, a judge sided with the firm in a lawsuit, agreeing with the firm that Wall Street’s biggest regulator lacked a coherent explanation for denying its proposed conversion to a Bitcoin ETF after years of denials.
The ruling paved the way for the SEC to give the green light to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
In January, the SEC approved Grayscale's proposal to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale also has a mini Bitcoin ETF with lower fees than its flagship Bitcoin product.
The fees for the forthcoming Ethereum mini ETF have not been disclosed.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.