"It's underway," exclaimed James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, on May 22, noting that at least five potential issuers of Ethereum ETFs had recently submitted amended 19b-4 forms to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Fidelity, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, Ark 21Shares, and Franklin all submitted amendments through the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

Earlier in the day, Grayscale filed an updated 19b-4 for their Ethereum Mini Trust.

However, the flurry of activity follows an advisory from the SEC to submit revised 19b-4 forms by May 21. These forms are filed by ETF issuers and exchanges proposing changes to rules or introducing new products, such as spot Ethereum ETPs.

May 23 marks the first final deadline for SEC approval or denial for the VanEck spot Ethereum ETF.

Despite the progress, Seyffart cautioned that it could still be a long journey to launch, stating, "These filings prove that all of the rumors and speculation and chatter have been accurate."

He emphasized that there needs to be SEC approval orders on all of the 19b-4s, followed by approval of the S-1 applications, which could take "weeks or more before ETFs launch."

The S-1 is the initial registration form required for new securities offered to the public, providing detailed information about the company's business operations and products.

Significant amendments were made to remove anything related to Ethereum staking from the ETF filings, as the SEC has vetoed this for these products. The regulator still asserts that Ether is a security.

Despite the setbacks, Seyffart maintained approval odds at 75%, up from 25% earlier in the week.

Regarding the last-minute SEC U-turn, ETF Store President Nate Geraci did not believe it was politically motivated.

On the price front, Ethereum surged to over $3,800 on May 21 amid optimism surrounding ETFs. The asset maintained gains, trading at $3,750 at the time of writing, representing a significant 31% increase over the past week. Meanwhile, Bitcoin struggled to hold gains, dipping below $70,000 during the Wednesday morning Asian trading session.