The SEC’s sudden engagement with prospective spot Ethereum ETF issuers has marked a huge change in the outlook for potential approvals, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. 

“At this point, just the news that the SEC is engaged is the real heart of the matter. The 180, as we're calling it,” he told The Block in an interview.

The next thing is to see when the 19b-4 forms will be approved and, after that, when the S-1 registration statements will go into effect, he said. He noted that the latter could take longer than normal since this is such a unique situation. After both of those take place, trading could begin.

“We don't know exactly when that will be, but all of these are logistics. To go over that mountain of possible approval is the big thing. Now it just comes …