It's crunch time as firms grapple with the Securities and Exchange Commission's seemingly sudden shift in potentially approving spot ether exchange-traded funds. 

On Monday, the SEC's division of trading and markets called exchanges to tell them that they would be approving 19b-4s this week, according to a person familiar. This comes as Barrons reports that SEC staff told exchanges on Monday that it was leaning toward approving them, citing people familiar with the matter.

This is a 180-degree turn from what the SEC told issuers two weeks ago when the agency showed no interest in the filings, a person familiar told The Block. 

"It is a completely unprecedented situation, which means it's entirely political," the source said. 

Issuers, who are then responsible for S-1s, …