SEC Approves Eight Spot Ethereum ETFs, Shiba Inu Developer Teases Possibility of SHIB ETF

In a groundbreaking development for the cryptocurrency market, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved eight Spot Ethereum ETFs on Thursday, May 23, 2024. Among those reacting to this news was Shiba Inu’s lead developer, Shytoshi Kusama. Moreover, the dev hinted at the possibility of a Shiba Inu (SHIB) ETF and teased major future upgrades for the ecosystem.

Kusama took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Ethereum on the milestone. “Congrats to our frens at @ethereum on the ETF APPROVAL!” Furthermore, he teased a potential Shiba Inu ETF in the future. He questioned, “Does this pave the way for #SHIB?” However, there was no clear indication of the same as he left the community to decide on it.

Shiba Inu’s Kusama wrote “I’ll let you decide… I’ll stay focused on what we have coming. #STAYTUNED.” Furthermore, it implies that they are having several updates coming up, further instilling confidence in the SHIB ecosystem.

In addition, this message has ignited speculation among Shiba Inu investors and enthusiasts, suggesting that the meme coin might follow in Ethereum’s footsteps with its own ETF. The SEC’s approval of the Ethereum ETFs was unexpected, given the agency’s recent inactivity in engaging with issuers.

Hence, the eight approved ETFs include offerings from financial heavyweights such as VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise. These ETFs will be listed on major exchanges including CBOE, NYSE ARCA, and NASDAQ. Moreover, it’ll broaden Ethereum’s accessibility to a wider range of investors.

However, despite the regulatory nod to the 19b-4 filings, the Ethereum ETFs cannot commence trading until the issuers receive approval for their S-1 registration statements. James Seyffart, a Bloomberg analyst, noted that while this process could be expedited in a few weeks, it has historically taken up to three months or more. Hence, a Shiba Inu ETF is also not going to be true sometime soon, however, the situation still remains unpredictable.

On the flip side, a significant factor behind this approval was political pressure from U.S. lawmakers. Earlier, a group of House representatives, including Majority Whip Tom Emmer and New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer, sent a letter to the SEC Chair Gary Gensler urging the approval of these ETFs.

They argued that the approval of Ethereum ETFs would be consistent with the standards applied by the SEC after endorsing spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year. This advocacy is considered one of the key reasons for the SEC’s swift decision, which even caught some insiders by surprise.

Meanwhile, Shytoshi Kusama’s tweet also hinted at news of significant future endeavors for Shiba Inu, though he remained cryptic about the specifics. This has fueled excitement within the SHIB community. Furthermore, a SHIB ETF, as mentioned by Kusama, could legitimize Shiba Inu, marking a massive milestone.