The final approvals for spot Ether exchange-traded funds should be finished this summer, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler told senators in a budget hearing on Thursday.

Gensler told the Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee during the hearing that the market regulator's budget justification process is proceeding smoothly following the initial approval of a batch of ETFs in May. The agency had approved the first wave of applications, but he mentioned that the final registration requirements (S-1 filings) are now being managed at the staff level.

Once the fillings are approved, investors can put money into funds that hold actual Ether. Ether ETFs were approved despite initial doubts. The SEC previously blocked bitcoin ETFs until a federal court intervention, after which Gensler has said that the SEC has been compliant with the court's decision.

Gensler repeated his complaints about the noncompliant crypto industry, avoided confirming if ETH is a commodity and argued that sister trade regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) isn’t prepared to regulate crypto markets. At the same hearing, Rostin Behnam, the chief of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), responded with “Yes” when asked whether it’s a commodity.

"While not all crypto are crypto securities – some are under Chair Behnam's jurisdiction – those that are have an obligation to disclose to the public," Gensler said.

Ether is trading at $3,495, up 0.59% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Some analysts predict that Ether may surpass its previous all-time high of $4,870 from November 2021 when spot Ether ETFs begin trading, as seen previously with Bitcoin ETFs.

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