An imminent U.S. government shutdown appears to be expediting the launch of Ether futures ETFs, a notion posited by market analysts. In the United States, it’s plausible that trading in Ether futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could commence as early as the upcoming week. Insights from Bloomberg analysts suggest this possibility. On the 28th of September, James Seyffart, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, made a noteworthy observation in a post, stating that it seems highly probable that the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) will greenlight a multitude of Ethereum futures ETFs in the coming week. This commentary was prompted by remarks from fellow ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who alluded to indications that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is keen on “expediting the launch of Ether futures ETFs.” Balchunas further noted that he had received information indicating that various filers were diligently updating their documents, with an eye on initiating trading as early as the following Tuesday, should the U.S. government indeed shut down at 12:01 am ET on October 1, due to a failure in congressional funding agreement for the new fiscal year. Such an event is expected to impact various federal agencies, including financial regulators. It’s worth noting that neither analyst disclosed the sources of their latest insights into the extensive lineup of pending crypto ETFs. According to analysts’ notes dated September 27, there are currently 15 Ether futures ETFs proposed by nine different issuers awaiting regulatory approval. Noteworthy among the companies proposing Ether futures or hybrid ETF products are VanEck, ProShares, Grayscale, Volatility Shares, Bitwise, Direxion, and Roundhill. The analysts assigned a 90% likelihood to the launch of Ether futures ETFs in October, with Valkyrie’s Bitcoin futures product positioned to be the first to incorporate Ether exposure as of October 3. However, the analysts tempered their optimism by stating, “We do not anticipate the simultaneous launch of all these ETFs.” Back in August, Cointelegraph reported the possibility of Ether futures ETF approval in October, leading to an 11% surge in ETH prices at the time. As of the moment of writing, ETH prices have shown a more modest 1% increase and currently hover just above $1,600. It’s important to note that crypto futures products do not generate the same level of anticipation as their spot-based counterparts. The United States has already seen the introduction of Bitcoin futures ETFs since 2021.
