The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to follow a similar approach to approve bitcoin (btc) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for ethereum spot ETFs, with the expectation that approval will be awarded by the initial final deadline of May 23, according to analysis by Standard Chartered Bank.
ethereum ETFs face delays, approval remains likely
According to a ethereum-etf-approval-may-standard-chartered-bank” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>report According to The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, head of foreign exchange and digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, stated that they expect pending applications for ethereum spot ETFs to be approved on May 23, which is considered the equivalent date of January 10. for bitcoin ETFs.
Furthermore, Kendrick predicts that if ethereum prices follow a similar trajectory as bitcoin until the ETF approval, ethereum could trade as high as $4,000 on the specified date.
Kendrick further supports the approval of ethereum spot ETFs based on the SEC's classification of ether as a not security in their legal actions against crypto companies.
Additionally, the fact that ethereum is listed as a regulated futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) adds weight to the expectation of approval.
Along the same lines, Scott Johnsson, financial lawyer, offered his vision on the potential road map for ethereum ETFs. Johnsson emphasized that while long-term approval of ethereum spot ETFs is very likely, there may be short-term delays due to ongoing regulatory actions involving the Coinbase/Binance exchanges.
A Shorter Path to eth ETF Approvals?
Johnson highlighted the regulatory path from a simple spot digital asset to a spot ETF offering, using bitcoin as an example. Johnsson noted that the bitcoin process took seven years, involving multiple steps and disapprovals along the way.
However, Johnsson noted that the timeline for ethereum is compressing, with applications open for both futures ETFs and spot ETFs. He suggested certain prerequisites that Johnsson believes may no longer be necessary for spot approval, such as Step 3, which requires the SEC to issue a formal 19b-4 approval for the futures ETF.
Johnsson highlighted two key factors in understanding the SEC's current approach to future approvals, including ethereum. First, he analyzed the threshold issue in the context of bitcoin-etf-imminent/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Grayscale decisionwhich focused on correlation analysis.
Second, Johnsson emphasized the SEC's view, limited by the recent btc approval order, that it considers correlation with the CME, a long sample period, intraday trading data, and consistency throughout the sample period.
While the specific threshold of sufficiency is still unknown, the correlation analysis for bitcoin is within an acceptable range. ethereum is therefore expected to comply with this. limit for the foreseeable future, Johnsson suggests.
Once the required level of correlation is reached, Johnsson believes approval of ethereum spot ETFs is likely to follow shortly thereafter, with May being the expected month of approval.
Overall, analysts and industry experts suggest that SEC approval of ethereum spot ETFs is a matter of time, barring any major legal changes.
eth is currently trading at $2,370, up more than 2% in the last 24 hours and more than 7% in the last seven days, following bitcoin's lead.
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