Four months after approving Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved eight applications for Ethereum ETFs, assenting to Ethereum trading on Wall Street.

When Bitcoin ETFs were approved by the SEC in January, Bitcoin jumped from $42,000 to $73,000 within two weeks. This approval could lead to a significant rise in the token's value, mirroring the market reaction seen with bitcoin ETFs.

This round of approval was given to several groups including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Ark, Invesco Galaxy and Franklin Templeton.

Although, the ETF issuers must ensure their S-1 registration statements are effective before trading can start. The SEC has recently initiated discussions with issuers regarding their S-1 forms. The timeframe for this process is uncertain, with some analysts suggesting it may take weeks.

In a tweet, Bloomberg ETF expert James Seyffart suggested that it might take a "couple weeks" before fund managers' S-1 documents are approved for trading.

“I think that if they work extremely hard it can be done within a couple weeks but there are plenty of examples of this process taking 3+ months historically,” he tweeted.

A reversal of fortune

Until this week, it appeared unlikely that the SEC would approve the Ethereum ETFs. The SEC had not shown any signs of moving forward with spot ETH ETF applications before the May 23 deadline.

Additionally, a recent lawsuit filed by Consensys, an Ethereum software company, claimed that the SEC has been secretly viewing ETH as an illegal, unregistered security for over a year. If the SEC officially categorizes ETH as a security, the approval process for Ethereum ETFs would need to be modified.

Before the approvals, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers urged the SEC to approve ETFs. The lawmakers stated that approving the ETFs would show consistency in applying standards and reinforce legal reasoning.

As approval for the ETFs became more likely, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust discount decreased from -24% to -6%. When the trust becomes an ETF, shareholders will be able to exchange their shares for the equivalent value in ether.

Following the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, an additional 207,000 bitcoin ($14 billion) has been acquired, in addition to the 621,000 bitcoin ($42 billion).

Although spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted nearly $13 billion in net in-flows since they were approved by the SEC, experts believe Ethereum ETFs are unlikely to get the same level of traction.