Ethereum is at the highs of the day, up 3.1% to $1644.
The catalyst is chatter that the SEC is trying to accelerate the launch of futures-based ETFs before the anticipated government shutdown on Monday. If a shutdown occurs, just 8% of SEC staff will stay on the job.
A Bloomberg reported first teased yesterday:
Hearing the SEC wants to accelerate the launch of Ether futures ETFs (bc they want it off their plate bf shutdown) so they’ve asked the filers to update their docs by Fri pm (no small task to jam into 48hrs, esp for indie issuers), so they can go eff Mon and trade Tue.
The scoop was seemingly confirmed by VanEck, who put out a press release today about the ‘upcoming launch’ of their ether ETF, even offering up a symbol (EFUT).
I would be careful chasing the headlines around an approval, as it largely looks priced in now and there might be speculation that a spot bitcoin ETF is also being pushed out (I’d say that’s highly unlikely). At this point, a better bet is that this is a sell-the-fact trade, though if there’s a nice run in risk assets it could run.