Coinbase calls on SEC to approve Grayscale’s spot Ethereum ETF

The Coinbase team has called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve Grayscale’s application to launch a spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF.

The company’s chief lawyer, Paul Grewal, believes that approval of Grayscale’s application is necessary through the preliminary conversion of the ETH trust into an instrument.

Coinbase shared a call with the SEC to approve the tool as part of the regulator’s comment process on the application. Grewal noted that the crypto exchange had presented the Commission with a “legal, technical and economic justification” for allowing the launch of Grayscale’s Ethereum spot ETF.

“Ether’s Proof of Stake has demonstrably strong governance that exhibits robust characteristics across ownership concentration, consensus, liquidity, and governance, mitigating risks of fraud and manipulation.”

Paul Grewal, Coinbase chief lawyer

Grewal also noted that Coinbase is committed to supporting innovation and creating a transparent, secure, inclusive financial ecosystem. For this purpose, the company constantly maintains dialogue and researches regulatory solutions in the cryptocurrency environment.

On Jan. 25, the SEC postponed its consideration of Grayscale‘s Ethereum ETF application until March 10. Commission Chairman Gary Gensler recalled that the approval of a Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF was limited to only one cryptocurrency. The delay also affected BlackRock’s similar bid for a spot crypto ETF.

Grayscale head of legal Craig Salm believes the SEC will likely approve an ETF based on the Ethereum spot price in the summer of 2024.