SEC Will Classify ETH as a Security and Reject Ethereum Spot ETFs, Says Michael Saylor

Michael Saylor believes that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will label ethereum as a security this summer and consequently deny all ethereum spot ETF applications. He also stated that other major cryptocurrencies such as Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Cardano (ADA) will likely face similar security classifications from the SEC.

“ethereum is considered to be a crypto asset security, not a commodity. After that, you'll see that ethereum, BNB, Solana, Ripple, Cardano, everything on the stack is just unregistered cryptoasset securities,” Saylor said during today's presentation at the MicroStrategy World 2024 conference.

“None of them will ever be covered by a spot ETF. None of them will be accepted by Wall Street. None of them will be accepted by major institutional investors as crypto assets,” he added.

In contrast, Saylor highlighted bitcoin's unique position as the only cryptoasset with full institutional acceptance, describing it as the “universal” institutional-grade cryptoasset with no competitors.

The MicroStrategy founder is known as a strong bitcoin advocate; He focuses exclusively on investing in bitcoin and building bitcoin infrastructure.

Saylor's comments come a day after MicroStrategy unveiled MicroStrategy Orange, a bitcoin-based decentralized identity solution. Earlier this week, the company also announced the acquisition of 122 btc last month.

Growing skepticism

Saylor is not the only person skeptical about the near-term approval of ethereum spot ETFs. Justin Sun, founder of the TRON Foundation, previously expressed concerns about ethereum ETF regulatory hurdles. He believes the SEC will not approve ethereum spot ETFs this month.

The SEC will make decisions on VanEck and ARK's filings on May 23 and 24, respectively. Recent discussions regarding the SEC approval process for bitcoin spot funds have been notably superficial compared to previous discussions preceding the SEC's approval of bitcoin spot funds, and, as reported, Reports, SEC staff did not engage in detailed discussions about the proposed ethereum ETFs.

This lack of interaction increases frustration and increases the chances of rejection or postponement of decisions.

A definitive classification for ethereum could clarify how companies interact with the asset. It could also influence the SEC's approval of products like spot ETFs and the willingness of companies to interact with ethereum.

However, not everyone shares this doubt. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on the Fox Business show “The Claman Countdown” that an ethereum spot ETF could still be possible even if the SEC classifies eth as a security.