The number of small Ethereum ($ETH) investors, those holding 10 ETH or less (around $37,500), has recently climbed to a new all-time high while larger investors are seemingly still lagging behind after divesting most of their funds over the last few months.

According to data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment, smaller Ethereum wallets hits a new all-time high of 121.74 million after the recent ETH price surge, while those holding between 10 and 10,000 ETH  – between $37,500 and $37.5 million – are still down a around 5.8% this year.

Notably larger whales, those that have over $37.5 million worth of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization in their wallets, are down 10.6% in terms of total holdings after divesting of their ETH over the last few months.

Notably the price of ETH has recently surged over news related to the potential approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has abruptly requested that the exchanges that want to list and trade these funds update key filings related to these products, fueling speculation that the regulator is considering approving these products.

Before any trading can begin, issuers of spot Ether ETFs must receive the go-ahead on their S-1 registration statements, with the SEC having no set deadline to review these filings.

The SEC’s ongoing investigation into Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, has intensified over the last few months, especially after the network’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake protocol.

Should Ether be classified as a security, it could provide the SEC with a basis to deny the applications for spot Ether ETFs. Nevertheless, the surge led to the spike in small ETH holders while seeing the cryptocurrency’s trading volume explode.

The SEC is seemingly nearing a decision on spot Ether ETFs, as the Cboe exchange has published amended 19b-4 filings in response to regulatory feedback for several applicants including asset management giants BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton, among others.

These filings came after the SEC requested standardized revisions where applicants could all use the same wording. While final approval of the applications remains uncertain, the feedback has boosted optimism within the industry, with some anticipating approvals as early as this week.

Featured image via Unsplash.