Some analysts in foreign media now believe that it is increasingly unlikely that the spot Ethereum ETF will be approved soon after the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF. They believe that there are obstacles to this approval.
Foreign media analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas respectively wrote that unlike the historic decision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow spot Bitcoin ETF trading for the first time on January 10, the agency has not yet contacted potential spot Ethereum ETFs. Issuer contact.
The SEC has also delayed approval of several spot Ethereum ETFs in recent weeks, causing investors to be less confident that the investment vehicle could be approved on May 23.
The analysts wrote, “Our cautious optimism that a spot Ethereum ETF will be approved has changed in recent months. We now believe that during the current round of negotiations on May 23, these requirements will ultimately be Denied. The SEC has not engaged with the issuer regarding the specific details of the spot Ethereum ETF. This is completely contrary to the situation before the spot Bitcoin ETF was approved.”
After a decade-long regulatory battle, the SEC approved 10 new spot Bitcoin ETFs in mid-January, opening a “Pandora’s box.” The lead-up to the launch of the funds, and subsequent transactions, helped propel Bitcoin to record prices and bring the funds’ assets to more than $35 billion. BlackRock’s iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has attracted more than $10 billion in new capital inflows, and Bitcoin prices are up 44% so far this year.
Balchunas, who frequently raised the odds of approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the months leading up to the approval, has now lowered the odds of approval for a spot Ethereum ETF from as high as 50% to 25%. "Things are not looking good right now."
In another post, he wrote, “If the SEC comments on the Ethereum ETF, our odds will at least double.”
The SEC has delayed its decision to approve a series of spot ethereum ETF applications, including those from Ark Invest, Hashdex, Grayscale Investments and BlackRock Inc. VanEck's proposed fund will receive a final ruling on May 23.
Sumit Roy, an analyst at etf.com, said, "The biggest factor is whether the SEC considers Ethereum to be a security, and it currently seems unwilling to make such a judgment. Cryptocurrency certainly has the characteristics of a security, but it also has the characteristics of a commodity "I think the SEC would prefer that lawmakers decide how to classify Ethereum and other cryptoassets, but until that happens, it will likely delay approving a spot Ethereum ETF for as long as possible."
Regulators have been soliciting public input on the funds, asking commentators to address concerns about market manipulation and fraud, one of the key issues that earlier hindered the swift approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The price of Ethereum is up 40% so far this year as investor excitement about cryptocurrencies has fueled a bull run in the crypto market. However, the price of Ethereum recently fell to near the $3,000 mark, and has fallen by 12% in the past five days.
Article forwarded from: Golden Ten Data
