BlackRock's Spot ETF Filing Boosts Ether and Staking Tokens

BlackRock has argued that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lacks legitimate grounds to treat spot-crypto and crypto-futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications differently. The SEC has approved several crypto futures ETFs but has yet to greenlight a single spot-crypto ETF. BlackRock questions the SEC's preference for the 1940 Act, which oversees futures ETFs, arguing that it lacks relevance in this context. The asset management firm believes that the SEC's distinction between futures and spot ETFs is without a difference and that the agency has no justifiable reason to reject spot-crypto ETF applications. Analysts predict that the first SEC approval of a spot crypto ETF, possibly Bitcoin-related, is imminent.