US regulators have officially approved spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold Ethereum’s native currency, Ether. This decision allows Americans to easily access a second major cryptocurrency through these widely-traded investment vehicles.
This marks the end of a lengthy process to gain approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for Ether ETFs, which follows the successful approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January.
By packaging Ether in an ETF format, it may encourage more traditional investors to consider including it in their portfolios, as the funds can be bought and sold through traditional brokerage accounts.
Since their launch in January, Bitcoin ETFs have attracted billions of dollars in investments. Obtaining approval for these ETFs was not certain just a few weeks ago.
However, in late May, the SEC began engaging with potential ETF issuers after a long period of silence. On May 23, the regulator approved a critical filing, paving the way for full approval with this latest decision.
