Ethereum Futures ETF May Be Approved Early 2022

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst predicts that financial institutions and traditional investors in the US can invest in Ethereum (ETH) through a futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the first quarter of 2022.

According to James Seyffart, the first quarter of 2022 may be the time when an ETF backed by regulated ETH futures contracts can be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The analyst also noted that a spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF is also possible in 2022, but SEC approval may take longer due to regulatory concerns in the underlying Bitcoin market.

While widely considered a superior type of ETF in the crypto community, the SEC has so far been reluctant to approve a spot-based Bitcoin ETF. Instead, it opted for ETFs backed by regulated futures contracts that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and do not hold any real BTC.

FTX CEO Also Waiting

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, also said that when asked for his views on the potential for an Ethereum ETF, he would not be surprised to see such an ETF approved.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, news broke that the regulator was asked to withdraw an inverted Bitcoin ETF bid called the Direxion Bitcoin Strategy Bear ETF. The company agreed to this and asked the SEC to withdraw the application.