Spot Ether ETFs may be weeks or months away from appearing on exchanges, as the ETF filers have yet to receive their S-1 SEC registration. In a significant move, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted regulatory approval for spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country.
The SEC approved the 19b-4 filings from several major financial institutions, including VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise. This approval paves the way for these companies to list and trade spot Ether ETFs on their respective exchanges.
Unlike spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were approved via a vote by a five-member committee, including SEC Chair Gary Gensler, spot Ether ETFs received approval from the SEC’s Trading and Markets Division. Additionally, all 10 Bitcoin ETFs began trading the day after their approval, having also received S-1 form clearance. In contrast, spot Ether ETFs might still be weeks or months away from debuting on exchanges due to pending S-1 SEC registration.
In other news, Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has ordered Worldcoin to halt its operations in the region. The PCPD concluded that Worldcoin’s activities violated the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung Lai-ling issued an enforcement notice to Worldcoin, demanding the immediate cessation of all project operations in Hong Kong that involve scanning and collecting irises and facial images of the public. The PCPD determined that collecting face images was unnecessary for verifying participants’ humanness, as operators could already perform this verification in person using the iris scanning devices at operating locations, rendering the collection of face images redundant.
In other news, Binance.US is set to reinstate its money services license in Florida. The Florida First District Court of Appeal ruled that the emergency suspension order issued by the state Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) lacked legal justification. The suspension followed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s guilty plea to violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering law on November 21, 2023.
The appeals court noted that the OFR “may” suspend a money-services business license by any procedure deemed fair under the circumstances, provided the agency offers reasons to justify the decision. The court also criticized the OFR for not considering less severe alternatives to suspension.