Gensler mum on timing of spot Ethereum ETFs' launch, but says process is going 'smoothly'

The process of launching spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds is "going smoothly," U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said on Tuesday.

"I don't know the timing, but it's going smoothly," Gensler said at a Bloomberg Invest Summit in New York. 

The SEC approved 19b-4 forms for eight Ethereum ETFs last month. Firms vying for those products still need their registration statements, called S-1s (or S-3, in the case of Grayscale , which is seeking to convert its Ethereum Trust to an ETF), to become effective before trading can begin.

Firms filed amended registration statements last week, which further disclosed details on seed investments and fees as they await the SEC's final sign-off to begin trading.

"It's really about the asset managers making the full disclosure so that those registration statements can go effective," Gensler said.

"It's something our Division of Corporation Finance handles hundreds if not thousands of times over anybody's career," Gensler added. "It's smoothly functioning — it's really up to the asset managers to make the proper disclosures."

Eric Balchunas, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst, has previously said he expects spot Ethereum ETFs to launch by next week.

Gensler also reiterated his concerns on Tuesday that most cryptocurrencies are securities and said crypto platforms are not complying with its rules.

"The American public is not getting the proper disclosure that they are required to get by law, but they need," Gensler said.

Election season

Crypto has become part of the election scene as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has ratcheted up support for crypto over the past few months ahead of the November election. He told participants at an event at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month he would advocate for bitcoin mining in the White House, saying miners contribute to energy grid stability. He also said he would accept political donations in the form of crypto and said he would stop "Joe Biden's crusade to crush crypto."

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's re-election campaign has been reaching out to members of the crypto industry for guidance on digital asset policies, according to reporting from The Block . That marks a significant shift from the Biden administration's less-than-favorable stance on crypto.

Gensler was asked on Tuesday to react to billionaire Mark Cuban's accusations that Gensler himself would be to blame if President Biden loses the election.

"I don't speak about elections," Gensler said.