VanEck's 8-A Filing Suggests ETH ETF Launch is Imminent, But Gensler Says No

VanEck has just filed its 8-A form for its spot Ethereum ETF, leading many to regard the move as a signal that the products could be launching soon.

The 8-A form is a registration document that companies file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register a class of securities for trading on a national securities exchange.

It offers basic information about the company and the securities being listed and is normally issued by firms that are already complying with SEC reporting requirements and looking for a simpler and quicker registration process.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted that VanEck filed an 8-A form for its Bitcoin ETF one week before the launch, suggesting that 2 July would be the equivalent date for an Ethereum ETF launch.

The date lines up with a previous prediction Balchunas made last month, in which he stated, "We are moving up our over/under date for the launch of spot Ether ETF to July 2nd, hearing the Staff sent issuers comments on S-1s today, and they're pretty light, nothing major, asking for them back in a week."

However, never shying away from being a party pooper, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said Ethereum listings might not happen until September. Nonetheless, Gensler reassured the market that the process was "going smoothly."

Gensler insisted that the launch depends on the applicants, not the regulator. "It's really about the asset managers making the full disclosure so that those registration statements can go effective," Gensler said.

"It's something our Division of Corporation Finance handles hundreds if not thousands of times over anybody's career," he added. "It's smoothly functioning — it's really up to the asset managers to make the proper disclosures."