Grayscale and Coinbase achieved progress in their plans to set up a spot exchange investment fund by holding another meeting with federal regulators earlier this week.
The companies tried to alleviate concerns about the security of the spot ether ETF, which will expose investors to the price movements of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, in their presentation to the SEC on Wednesday.
Grayscale, in the process of converting its unsuccessful Ethereum, trusts the ETF, in a move that could further expand investors’ access to crypto-based investment options.
A presentation by Coinbase during the meeting was published on the SEC‘s website.
The talks took place two months after the SEC approved over a dozen spot bitcoin ETFs, which helped many cryptocurrencies’ prices rise to record levels and intensified investor demand for crypto investment products.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum prices reached record levels on Friday, surpassing $70,000 and $4,000, respectively.
Coinbase Wants SEC to Approve Its Spot ETH ETF
Coinbase called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list Graytoned Ethereum. The company needs to gain trust for trading, according to Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal.
In a statement made by Grewal, he announced that Coinbase had responded to the SEC‘s request for comment. He stated that Coinbase provided the “legal, technical and economic justification” required for approval.
He also said, “Our letter puts forth something that anyone even slightly interested in the subject already knows: ETH is not a security. In fact, before and after the Merger, the SEC, CFTC and the market have not treated ETH as a security. It’s not security but a commodity.”
Analysts predict that the SEC will approve spot Ethereum ETFs as early as May this year. Last October, Grayscale and NYSE Arca applied to convert the Grayscale Ethereum Trust into a spot ether ETF.