[NEWS] SEC Chairman Gensler says Ethereum spot ETF will be approved "in summer"

On the 13th, SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) Chairman Gary Gensler said that he expected final approval to occur this summer in response to a question about the approval of an Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF during a hearing on the 2025 budget.

This comment was made when Republican Senator Bill Hagerty asked Chairman Gensler about the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF. Chairman Gensler responded, "I expect individual issuers to be approved over the summer."

Regarding the Ethereum spot ETF, there was also a question about whether Ethereum would be classified as a commodity, but Chairman Gensler did not give a clear answer. Meanwhile, CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) Chairman Rostin Behnam answered simply, "Yes."

In his response, Chairman Gensler asserted that the SEC has approved an Ethereum spot ETF and that staff are working with individual ETF issuers to ensure that the S-1s become effective and the funds can fully launch.

He added, "We have indeed approved Ethereum as a government agency. However, we have only partially approved it, and the approval is not yet complete."

CFTC oversight "depends on authority being established"

In response to a question about whether the CFTC can regulate part of the cryptocurrency market, Chairman Behnam noted that "there is a gap in the regulations regarding tokens that are considered securities." He indicated that in order for the CFTC to regulate the cryptocurrency market, it is necessary to establish the necessary authority for oversight. He also pointed out that if the CFTC were to oversee part of the cryptocurrency market, it would require an increase in the budget.

When asked the same question, Gensler hesitated and replied, "The SEC has a 'disclosure-based' regime that the CFTC does not have."

Reference:Public hearing
Image: Shutterstock

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