The United States Securities Exchange and Securities Commission (SEC) has approved the VanEck Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), marking a huge milestone for the market.

The Notice of Effectiveness of the ETF was filed on July 22 using the form S-1 and aims to provide investors with a regulated means of gaining exposure to Ether (ETH) in the US.

The approval follows a series of filing and amendments submitted to the SEC, reflecting a long line of regulatory scrutiny as the global investment manager pushes the ETF through.

The approval and key filings

VanEck began pushing for the Ethereum ETF with its initial registration filing on May 7, 2021, revealing prolonged efforts and delays to meet the regulatory standards required for its approval.

Essential filings that led up to the approval include the Prospectus under Rule 424(b)(3) and multiple amendments to the S-1 form as the firm adjusted to SEC compliance requirements.

The S-1 form is required by the SEC for companies planning their first public securities offering, while the Rule 424(b)(3) prospectus provides final offering details after the S-1 is effective.

Source: VanEck

S-1 amendments

In July 8 filings, VanEck amended their S-1 registration forms with the SEC to secure the listing and trading of spot ETF shares.

As the last stage in the SEC ETF approval process, the crypto investments firm 21Shares also made amendments to receive final approval from the SEC.

Both firms’ filings did not include launch dates for US exchanges but indicated that the Ethereum ETFs would be launched as soon as practicably possible “after the effective date.”

Grayscale spot Ether ETF launches on NYSE

Amid the SEC Ether ETF approvals, Grayscale, a digital asset manager, confirmed that its two spot Ether ETFs officially began trading on July 23 on NYSE Arca.

The Grayscale ETFs launch follows the SEC’s decision to sign off the final approval on July 22, allowing several issuers to launch their products for trading.

On July 22, Grayscale transferred over $1 billion worth of ETH to Coinbase in preparation for the launch of its ETFs, moving 292,263 ETH as per its Ethereum Mini Trust July 18 filing.