The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the launch of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. According to a filing on May 23, the SEC approved regulatory approval for the rule change. Now, major players like VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise can list and trade their spot Ethereum ETFs on the exchange.

Although the SEC has approved the rule changes, ETF issuers still need the agency to approve their respective registration statements before spot Ethereum ETFs can officially begin trading. According to industry analysts, this final approval process could take anywhere from a few days to a few months.

It is worth noting that the SEC did not approve Hashdex’s spot Ethereum ETF application.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously against crypto exchange Coinbase regarding its 2021 Dogecoin sweepstakes. The 9-0 decision focused on procedural issues rather than on Coinbase’s crypto practices or broader regulatory issues.

The Supreme Court ruled that it was up to the lower court to decide which agreement took precedence. Coinbase had argued that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could create legal chaos with arbitration agreements. However, the court rejected those concerns. The ongoing lawsuit claims that Coinbase misled customers into believing they had to buy or sell $100 worth of Dogecoin to be eligible for the prizes, when in fact, they could participate for free.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was transferred by authorities from the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. The move appears to be a step toward transferring him to the federal prison in Mendota, California, despite a judge's recommendation that he remain in Brooklyn to have access to his appellate lawyers.

Bankman-Fried has been detained in New York since his bail was revoked in August 2023, pending his conviction on seven felonies in November 2023. His transfer to Oklahoma could mean authorities may be preparing to move him to the Mendota jail.

Crypto wallet Phantom has surpassed payment platform PayPal and ranked second on the Google Play Store. With more than 5 million downloads, Phantom is now second only to Cash App. It surpassed apps such as TON Wallet, Chime, Venmo, Zelle, and Google Wallet.

Originally built on the Solana blockchain, Phantom has now added support for Ethereum, Polygon, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens. Its meteoric rise in the Google Play Store rankings highlights the growing popularity of crypto and Web3 apps among mobile users.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act along party lines. The bill aims to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The bill, introduced by Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), seeks to address concerns that a U.S. CBDC could be used to monitor and control Americans.

Republicans expressed concerns about excessive government intervention, while Democrats believed those concerns were overblown and argued that banning CBDCs would hinder innovation and research in the public sector. Ultimately, 213 Republicans and 3 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 192 Democrats opposed it.

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