VanEck, 21Shares Amend ETH ETF Filings, Ball "Back in SEC's Court"

Asset management firms VanEck and 21Shares have submitted amendments to their Ethereum ETF S-1 registrations with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Filed on 8 July, 21Shares amended its s-1 registration form for its Core Ethereum ETF form while VanEck did the same for its Ethereum ETF on the same day.

No US exchange launch date was mentioned in the filings but the amendments serve as the final stage of approvals required by the US regulator for the products to be listed. Bitwise made similar amendments on 3 July.

Experts believe the amendments could lead to the ETFs being listed within weeks.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described the amendments as "putting the ball back in the SEC's court."

The amendments come after the SEC returned the S-1 forms to prospective ETH ETF issuers last week. The forms were returned with light comments and issuers have been requested to refile them by 8 July.

Balchunas explained on X, "Sounds like SEC took extra time to get back to ppl this wk (altho again very light tweaks) and from what I hear next wk is dead bc holiday = July 8th the process resumes and soon after that they’ll launch."

However, 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."

Meanwhile, Solana ETF applications filed by VanEck and 21Shares have kept the market excited. Balchunas said the most likely deadline for Solana ETFs is mid-March 2025, adding that November is the most important date due to the US presidential elections.

“If Biden wins, these likely DOA. If Trump wins, anything poss,” he said.

Matthew Sigel, VanEck head of digital assets research, explained that the firm filed for the product because "We believe Solana stands out as a powerful and accessible blockchain software."

"We think this combination of high throughput, low fees, robust security, and a strong community vibe makes Solana an attractive option for an exchange-traded fund, offering investors exposure to a versatile and innovative open-source ecosystem," he added, highlighting how Solana is a competitor to Ethereum.