As to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, Grayscale Investments’ application for an Ether (ETH) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) is perceived as a ‘trojan horse’ aimed at pressuring the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve its Ether ETF. Seyffart said on Twitter on November 15 that if Grayscale’s application is approved by the SEC, the asset manager will be able to use that approval to support its own proposal for a spot Ether ETF. In the event that the SEC rejects the proposal, Grayscale may contend that by permitting one Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether futures ETF under the Securities Act of 1933 but not the other, the SEC is treating the two types of ETFs differently.
By employing the Ether Futures ETF as a “trojan horse” to get a 19b-4 order from the regulator and put them in a lose-lose scenario, Seyffart thinks Grayscale is manipulating the SEC like a game of chess. In agreement with Seyffart, Scott Johnsson, General President of Van Buren Capital General, said that while Grayscale probably wouldn’t introduce the Ether futures ETF, it would be helpful as a means of advancing spot ETH over the finish line. Two days before the deadline of November 17th, the SEC postponed its decision regarding Grayscale’s Ether futures ETF on November 15. On November 15, the securities authority also halted Hashdex’s application to change its Bitcoin futures ETF into a spot product.
