The Block Crypto News18 minutes ago

Published on March 28, 2024 19:24 GMT+00:00edited on March 28, 2024 19:34 GMT+00:00

Bitwise has filed for the right to issue a spot ether exchange-traded fund even as questions continue to swirl around when the Securities and Exchange Commission might give such products the green light.

Bitwise filed its S-1 form for what it is calling the Bitwise Ethereum ETF with the SEC on Thursday. The move follows comments made earlier this month in which the firm's CIO Matt Hougan said it might be better if the SEC doesn't approve the new instruments in May, when the agency is scheduled to approve or deny the first pending applications for spot ether ETFs.

At one juncture, market watchers were confident a spot ether ETF would gain approval, given spot bitcoin ETFs began trading in January. The newly issued products have generated more than $150 billion in trading volume and have …