On May 24, 2024, our Managing Partner Erdem Mümtaz Hacıpaşaoğlu joined CoinDesk Türkiye‘s Haftaya Bakış live broadcast and assessed the SEC’s 19b-4 approval of spot Ethereum ETF filings, alongside the legal framework taking shape in Turkey with the new crypto-asset bill submitted to the parliament.
The central thesis of the broadcast was clear: the SEC’s 19b-4 approval cracked the door open for spot Ethereum ETFs, but a commercial launch still requires S-1 approvals; meanwhile, Turkey’s crypto-asset bill submitted to the Grand National Assembly establishes a MiCA-aligned architecture that positions the CMB (SPK) as the dominant authority across all token types.
The Ethereum ETF: a two-stage approval and a 10-day administrative window
Mümtaz emphasized that Ethereum ETF approval is a two-stage process: the 19b-4 approval is not granted by the SEC’s top-level commissioners but delegated to lower teams as administrative authority; this is followed by a 10-day administrative window during which objections are possible, and ultimately the S-1 filings must also be approved. “It’s a bit early to celebrate,” he said, noting that if no objection arrives within nine days, commercial Ethereum ETFs will be on the table. In contrast to the heavily contested Bitcoin ETF approval — slowed by lawsuits aimed at blocking it — Ethereum’s path was relatively faster precisely because no comparable lawsuit intervened.
A bridge between traditional finance and crypto
Mümtaz underlined that crypto-asset ETFs build a critical bridge between traditional finance and crypto: as ETFs proliferate, crypto adoption among traditional finance investors accelerates, institutional flows into ETH increase, and access for the general public becomes meaningfully easier. From this angle, the approval is “good news for the ecosystem.”
Election-cycle pressure and the SEC’s legal independence
Asked about the pressure of November’s U.S. elections on the SEC, Mümtaz reminded that regulators are legally independent from the central administration — in fact, the SEC operates with much greater autonomy than its Turkish counterparts. He noted, however, that complete isolation from political winds is not realistic in practice. Trump’s pivot from a crypto-adversarial stance to actively courting the crypto vote — accepting crypto donations and aligning with the ecosystem — combined with the influence of ecosystem leaders, the fact that token classification still relies on tests written decades ago (Howey), and growing institutional weight all feature as variables shaping the SEC’s positioning.
Staking, the security debate, and the simplification of definitions
Mümtaz addressed the removal of staking from ETF filings together with Ethereum’s long-running securities classification debate. He observed that even regulators occasionally conflate proof-of-stake with staking, and similar traces show up in Turkey’s draft crypto-asset legislation. In the new phase, he expects Ethereum to settle into a far more legible legal category; institutionalization and the ETF process will push definitions toward simplification — and the decentralized side will have to accept a trade-off in favor of converging with traditional finance.
Pandora’s box: ETFs for other projects
On the question of whether Solana, Avalanche, and even tokens like PancakeSwap (CAKE) might pursue their own ETF filings, Mümtaz’s personal view was that “Pandora’s box is now open.” Beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, several additional tokens are already on solid trajectories, and the precedent set today will likely accelerate future approvals. But he cautioned that beneath the surface lie months — sometimes years — of lobbying, regulator engagement, and public groundwork; a project starting today will not move in weeks. Over the medium-to-long term, however, the wind is unambiguously blowing in the direction of more approvals.
Turkey’s crypto-asset bill: a MiCA-aligned architecture with a strengthened CMB
Calling the crypto-asset bill submitted to the Grand National Assembly “not a draft thrown together off the top of someone’s head — much serious work has gone into it,” Mümtaz noted that after seven major iterations since November, the current text demonstrates that MiCA — Europe’s crypto-asset regulation — has been read and is being absorbed, particularly on token classification. Where the U.S. model places security tokens under the SEC and other tokens under different regulators, Turkey’s draft locates every token — including memecoins — under the CMB, making this a strongly centralized regulatory framework.
He stressed that a consumer-protection orientation runs through the draft: increased director liability, sanctions reaching up to five years of imprisonment for breaches, and high administrative fines. KYC and AML provisions are tight, and their effects will become more pronounced through secondary regulation. At the same time, he flagged significant uncertainty around licensing fees, capital adequacy thresholds, and transitional timelines — and warned that the short transition window (one month to apply, three months to wind down) is forcing the sector to position quickly.
The right moment to position
Mümtaz pointed out that during the transition period the regulator will inevitably be in a different relationship with incumbents and will need to take a softer view of them. With parliament set to recess on July 1, he expects the law to enter into force before July — framing this for both domestic and international exchanges as “the final minutes on the clock” to position in Turkey.
Highlights from this broadcast
- Two-stage approval: 19b-4 + S-1 and the 10-day administrative window
- Bridge effect: ETFs accelerate traditional finance’s convergence with crypto
- Election pressure: The SEC is legally independent but not insulated from politics
- Staking and securities: Definitions are simplifying; the decentralized side concedes
- Pandora’s box: The path is now open for other projects’ ETF approvals
- Turkey’s bill: MiCA-aligned, CMB-dominant, consumer-protective
- Positioning: Law will land before July — the clock is running
