Grayscale and Coinbase Are Negotiating Ethereum ETF with SEC

Grayscale and Coinbase have met with the SEC to discuss a rule change for the launch of spot Ether ETFs. The goal is to convert Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust, which tracks the market price of Ether, into an ETF, following the same process used for their Bitcoin Trust in January.

The meeting, which occurred on March 6, addressed concerns about potential market manipulation and referenced Coinbase’s surveillance-sharing agreement with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Coinbase argued that the same reasoning used to approve Bitcoin ETFs should also be applied to Ether, as it has mechanisms in place to limit susceptibility to fraud and manipulation.

Additionally, it was noted that Ether futures are closely correlated to the spot market, similar to Bitcoin, and the SEC has previously approved CME-traded Ether futures ETFs. This has led to speculation that there may not be valid grounds for disapproval of spot Ether ETFs.