SEC Must Treat Ethereum ETFs Like Bitcoin and Allow Trading, Lawmakers Say

House representatives on both sides of the aisle are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to let exchanges list Ether spot ETFs –applications for which they must decide on today.“With the Commission’s actions earlier this year, it seems a natural progression that would not only demonstrate consistency in the Commission’s application of its standards but would also affirm the legal reasoning that facilitated the spot Bitcoin ETPs decision,” read a bipartisan letter shared by Rep. French Hill (R-AR) on Thursday.The letter’s co-signers included Hill, Tom Emmer (R-MN), Mike Flood (R-NE), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Wiley Nickel (D-NC).The SEC was reluctant to approve Bitcoin spot ETFs, but ultimately caved in January following a decisive court loss to crypto asset manager Grayscale on the issue.Grayscale’s arguments at the time were simple: The SEC had already approved Bitcoin futures ETFs, and so refusing a highly similar product like Bitcoin spot ETFs would be arbitrary and capricious, and therefore illegal.Given that Ethereum futures ETFs have already been approved for trading, the same case arguments would theoretically apply. “The Commission should apply the same principles set forth in the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETPs as it evaluates the pending Ether ETP applications as the legal considerations pertinent to Bitcoin also apply to Ether,” the lawmakers wrote.The lawmakers also pushed for an equitable approach to “other digital assets,” suggesting potential support for altcoin ETFs after Ether.Until this month, most experts agreed the SEC would not be approving spot Ether ETFs before their May 23 deadline to decide on VanEck’s application. That changed earlier this week, however, as the SEC started helping exchanges and issuers revise their 19b-4 applications on an accelerated basis.The sudden turnaround has many thinking the SEC’s decision was political. Earlier this month, the first solely focused crypto legislation concerning crypto banking passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support, despite denunciation from the White House.On Wednesday, a bipartisan supermajority in the House passed Hill’s FIT21 bill to bring regulatory clarity to crypto at large – with 71 Democrats voting in favor.The Biden admin is marginally taking their foot off our neck for cheap political points bc junior staffers showed them scary internal polls Don’t be placated. We still need a clean house and total regime change.— nic carter (@nic__carter) May 20, 2024Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said he expects the SEC’s decision on Ethereum spot ETFs to be published by 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.Edited by Stacy Elliott.