Spot ETH ETFs receive official approval from the SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Trading and Markets has approved the spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) 19b-4 filings from VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise. This will allow the spot ETH ETFs to be listed and traded on their respective exchanges, but the SEC still needs to sign off on their corresponding S-1 registration statements for trading to officially begin, and this could take months. This process differs from that followed in the January 2024 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF approval process in which both the 19b-4 and S-1 filings were approved almost simultaneously. [Read more at the SEC]
A key aspect of the SEC spot ETH ETF approval is that it considers each ETF to be a “Commodity-Based Trust Share”. Several years ago the SEC classified ETH as a commodity, but when ETH migrated to the Proof of Stake (POS) protocol, the SEC reclassified ETH as a security. [Read more at Ledger Insights]
IMF calls Zimbabwe switch to ZiG unit an “important” step
A spokesperson for the IMF said that “the introduction of [the gold-backed] ZiG represents an important policy action accompanied by several complementary policy changes — including monetary, exchange rate, and fiscal policy measures,” in an emailed response to questions from the Bloomberg news service. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) launched “Zimbabwe Gold” (ZiG), anchored to a weighted value of the central bank’s precious metal (mainly gold) and foreign currency reserves, in April 2024. The RBZ also explicitly pledged not to finance government spending by printing money, which undermined past versions of the local currency. [Read more at Bloomberg]
House passes bill barring Federal Reserve from issuing digital dollar
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act (H.R. 5403) that requires the Federal Reserve to obtain congressional approval before issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bill seeks to amend the Federal Reserve Act, barring the Fed from providing direct consumer services or leveraging CBDCs for monetary policy (i.e., remunerating a CBDC) without Congress’s explicit consent. As pointed out by Ledger Insights, the drafting is very sloppy, particularly by blurring the lines between retail and wholesale CBDC, and full enactment could have unintended consequences. For example, the sloppy drafting could prohibit the current practice of using remuneration on commercial bank reserves held at the Fed as a policy tool. [Read bill at GovInfo.gov]
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- CBDC Conference, Istanbul, September 10-12. The conference will offer representatives of central banks, commercial banks, technology providers, policy makers and academics the perfect platform to learn about the latest CBDC developments, exchange ideas with experts and peers. [Find out more and register here][Central bank delegates may be eligible for free registration (email registration@cbdc-conference.com to find out more)]
- Digital Currency Conference, London, September 23-24. The conference will bring together policymakers, regulators, and technology and innovation experts to network and discuss all aspects of digital currencies. And enter the KiffmeisterDCC code at registration to get a 20% discount! [Find out more and register here]
And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
