Coinbase Executives Meet With SEC To Discuss Ethereum ETF, Argue ETH Spot Market Shows Resilience to Fraud

Coinbase executives are meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to support the approval of a spot market Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A new memorandum reveals that Coinbase executives met with the SEC earlier this week to sway the regulatory agency into greenlighting crypto asset manager Grayscale’s application for an Ethereum ETF by arguing that their provided data shows ETH spot markets are resilient to fraud.

According to Coinbase, the rationale used by the SEC to approve spot market Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs earlier this year should also apply to exchange-traded products (ETPs) based around the leading smart contract platform.

Furthermore, Coinbase says that Ethereum has mechanisms that make it less prone to fraud and manipulation.

“The Commission’s rationale in deciding to approve spot Bitcoin ETPs applies with equal or greater force for ETH.

Ethereum has mechanisms that significantly limit ETH’s susceptibility to fraud and manipulation. Spot markets for ETH are highly indicative of a market resilient to fraud and manipulation.”

Though it approved BTC ETFs in January, the regulatory body delayed its decision on numerous bids to create Ethereum ETFs from marquee asset managers – such as BlackRock, Grayscale and Fidelity – around the same time.

As stated by the SEC at the time,

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”

Last month, international cross-border bank Standard Chartered said that it is anticipating the SEC to make its decision by May 23rd.

Ethereum is trading for $3,945 at time of writing, a 1.65% gain during the last 24 hours.

Generated Image: Midjourney