The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given initial approval for Bitwise’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). 

The SEC confirmed that the filing received accelerated approval. This came after the regulator approved similar ETFs last month.

SEC Approves Bitwise’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF

On January 30, the SEC approved NYSE Arca’s 19b-4 filing. The filing allows Bitwise’s combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF to be listed and traded. 

According to the filing, the fund’s asset allocation will closely reflect the relative market capitalizations of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Furthermore, its holdings would be limited to these two cryptocurrencies and cash reserves.

Notably, according to the SEC, the filing received accelerated approval. The agency determined that the filing was substantially similar to other approved spot crypto ETFs, which allowed for an expedited approval process.

“The Commission finds good cause to approve the Proposal prior to the 30th day after the date of publication of notice of Amendment No. 126 in the Federal Register,” the SEC stated.

The development follows the SEC’s approval of the first-ever combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton in December 2024.

“Because hashdex and Franklin were already approved it made sense that this would also be approved in short order,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart pointed out on X.

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas also commented on the decision on social media platform X. He said that the decision was “news but expected.” 

“Even Gensler’s SEC would approve these,” Balchunas wrote.

Balchunas also highlighted the speed of the SEC’s decision. He noted that the approval process took only 45 days instead of the standard 240-day review period.

“I really want to interpret this as a sign the new SEC will be faster but no way to know really. Litecoin on deck, know more soon,” he added.

NYSE Arca filed the 19b-4 on November 26, 2024. After a public comment period and a revision to the filing on January 21, 2025, the SEC decided to fast-track its approval. The approval adds to Bitwise’s growing footprint in the crypto ETF space.

The investment manager has also submitted applications for Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE) ETFs. Nonetheless, given its higher volatility and speculative nature, whether the SEC will approve a meme coin ETF remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund also remains under review. This fund is designed to track the performance of the top cryptocurrencies.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents are petitioning President Trump for a pardon. Trump recently pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, but Bankman-Fried may be a more difficult case.

SBF contributed millions to defeat Trump’s Presidential campaign in 2020 and was sentenced to prison less than a year ago. For these and other reasons, a pardon seems much less likely.

Could SBF Get a Pardon?

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), one of the most infamous criminals in crypto history, may receive a pardon from President Trump. According to a Bloomberg report, his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are spearheading the effort.

Both parents are law professors, and they’ve been consulting with figures in Trump’s orbit.

Since Donald Trump re-took office, he’s been fulfilling obligations to the crypto community. He pardoned Ross Ulbricht on his second day in office, making good on a campaign promise.

Ulbricht’s mother was a key figure in petitioning for this pardon, and SBF’s parents want to use the same strategy. Indeed, due to Trump’s early string of pardons, he’s facing many requests.

“I have been hearing from people in prison, from people recently sentenced who haven’t reported to the Bureau of Prisons yet, from people who have been indicted. They are looking for somebody who knows somebody,” claimed Jeffrey Grant, who runs a legal and advisory firm in New York for white-collar defendants. He has received around 100 pardon requests.

Rumors about an SBF pardon have circulated a few times since Trump won the Presidential election, but nothing has materialized yet. Indeed, it might be much more difficult than Ulbricht’s pardon.

For example, the new US Attorney in the SDNY pledged that his office would stop a crypto crackdown, but only after defeating Bankman-Fried’s appeal.

In other words, even when the legal system wants to ease up on crypto criminals, the Bankman-Fried case is still very recent. He was sentenced less than a year ago, whereas Ulbricht spent more than a decade behind bars.

If Trump gives SBF a pardon this soon, it might directly encourage these large-scale financial crimes.

“In my opinion, SBF will be pardoned and released. There are more truths to be revealed. Nothing is what it seems and definitely not what you were told. Watch this space. The real criminals will be exposed,” wrote Martin Folb.

Additionally, before his arrest, Ulbricht was a libertarian with no strong affiliation to either political party. Bankman-Fried, on the other hand, was a major Democratic donor who directly contributed millions to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.

If SBF wishes for Trump to pardon him now, his contributions to the Republicans might not be enough to clear the bad blood. In other words, it doesn’t seem particularly likely that SBF will receive a pardon anytime soon. 

Reports suggest that his parents consulted a lawyer who helped several clients receive clemency in Trump’s first term. They were told that “Trump is busy doing other things” and should contact him again in a month.