According to Decrypt, Ethereum's price has risen to levels not seen since May 2022, following the recent approval of multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs. This surge in price is driven by hopes that a spot Ethereum ETF could be next in line for approval. Ethereum is currently up 8.7%, trading at just over $2,620. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is trading relatively flat, up 2% over the past day.
Several companies, including Ark 21Shares, BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, have filed applications for a spot Ethereum ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bloomberg Intelligence's ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reportedly pointed to a 70% chance of an Ethereum ETF being approved by May, which is the SEC's final deadline for a decision on multiple spot Ethereum ETF applications. Balchunas noted that he had heard “on the back channels” that spot Ethereum ETFs “will be fine.”
SEC chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly refused to confirm whether the regulator considers Ethereum a security or a commodity. However, prior to taking up his post at the SEC, Gensler stated that the regulator considered Ethereum 'sufficiently decentralized' that it doesn't qualify as a security, seemingly referencing the views of SEC's former Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman, expressed in a June 2018 speech.
