Valkyrie's Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Steven McClurg predicted that it could take another year or two for the spot Ethereum ETF to be approved.
Despite recent filings for a spot Ethereum ETF from major firms such as Fidelity and BlackRock, Valkyrie is not currently operating for an ETF.
The cryptocurrency industry is riding a wave of success after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US last month, attracting billions of dollars since then. However, a spot ETH ETF may not be on the horizon just yet.
“A lot of work has gone into the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF on behalf of companies as well as regulators and the SEC. It's a new asset class, so there's a lot to learn,” McClurg said in an interview. He also added that differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum could mean the SEC will need more time to figure out what the required disclosures for such a product might look like.
Some applications for the Spot Ethereum ETF include a staking component, which McClurg believes could add another level of complexity. “It would be very difficult to stake ETH without seeing this as a security feature,” he said.
McClurg also discussed the potential for a spot XRP ETF, given its legal battles. Ripple, the company behind XRP, was sued by the SEC in 2020, accusing it of illegally raising money through the unregistered sale of XRP.
McClurg said Bitcoin, ETH and XRP are not recognized as securities by the SEC or through the courts.
McClurg concluded his words as follows:
“That's why this topic is on the agenda. I think there are a few more altcoins that might be considered non-securities that could then be held in an ETF, but we'll see what happens next year.”
*This is not investment advice.
