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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the listing and trading of two spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, according to a July 17 filing.

The approval process, however, is not yet complete. While the SEC’s authorization of the Form 19b-4 filing allows NYSE Arca to facilitate trading of the funds, the issuers, Grayscale and ProShares, are still awaiting final comments on their respective S-1 filings. These filings provide comprehensive details about the ETFs’ structure, operations, and risks, and their approval is essential for the spot products to commence listing and trading.

Grayscale is the asset manager behind one of the largest spot Bitcoin ETFs, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). The company’s Ethereum Mini Trust is one of two spot Ethereum ETFs it plans to introduce, and it is expected to be seeded with assets from the existing Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), which is also undergoing conversion into an ETF.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart shared on X that the Ethereum Mini Trust could potentially alleviate outflows from the larger ETHE fund as investors transition to the more liquid and exchange-traded structure.

Market analysts and industry experts are closely watching the developments, with some predicting that the spot Ethereum ETFs could begin trading as early as July 23. If this timeline holds, it would represent a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, signaling growing acceptance and regulatory recognition of digital assets as legitimate investment vehicles.

The SEC’s decision to approve these Ethereum ETFs comes after extensive back-and-forth dialogues with the issuers and multiple amendments to the funds’ S-1 filings.

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