Ethereum enthusiasts and investors have been eagerly awaiting the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has recently expressed optimism, giving a 70% chance of an Ethereum spot ETF being approved by May. This comes as the SEC faces multiple applications for Ethereum spot ETFs, including those from VanEck, Ark 21Shares, and Hashdex, with decisions expected by the end of May.
Colin Wu, a Chinese crypto reporter, shared a Twitter post regarding the latest developments in the Ethereum spot ETF landscape:
Digital asset lawyer Joe Carlasare stated that an Ethereum spot ETF will likely be approved this year, though the approval timeline may extend beyond initial expectations. Carlasare suggests that spot ETH ETFs might not commence trading until the third quarter of 2024, while Hashdex, one of the applicants, anticipates trading could start as early as the second quarter.
The recent approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10 has set a precedent, making the path to approval for spot Ethereum ETFs in 2024 appear more favorable. Steven McClurg, the chief investment officer of Valkyrie Funds, even speculated that spot Ether and XRP ETFs could follow suit in the market after Bitcoin.
Another Bloomberg ETF analyst, James Seyffart, shared optimism about the SEC granting approval for spot Ether ETFs. He pointes out that the SEC implicitly accepted Ether as a commodity when approving Ether futures ETFs in September, further bolstering the case for spot Ethereum ETFs. At the time of writing, Ethereum’s price is hovering above $2,500 at $2,585, with a strong surge of more than 8% in the past 24 hours.
A competitive field of applicants, including BlackRock, VanEck, Ark 21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, Grayscale, and Hashdex, is vying for SEC approval for spot Ethereum ETFs. Each applicant faces specific deadlines for the SEC’s decision, with VanEck due by May 23, Ark 21Shares by May 24, Hashdex by May 30, Grayscale by June 18, and Invesco by July 5. Fidelity and BlackRock’s applications are scheduled to be decided by August 3 and August 7, respectively.
The recent approval of Bitcoin ETFs has also ignited interest in Ethereum among cryptocurrency whales. In the wake of the Bitcoin ETF approval, six whales have accumulated a significant amount of 58,480 ETH, valued at approximately $134 million, in just seven days. Their actions suggest strong anticipation of an Ethereum ETF. Whale 0x931 made a $48 million investment in 21,192 ETH, realizing unrealized profits of $6.85 million.
Spot On Chain, an on-chain market analytics platform, shared an X post highlighting the significant accumulation of Ethereum by major investors:
Justin Sun withdrew 11,267 ETH, worth $25.31 million, from Binance. Additionally, another smart whale, 0xb82, withdrew 12,219 ETH, worth $28.9 million, from Binance, generating $2.71 million in unrealized profit. Meanwhile, three new whales collectively withdrew 13,800 ETH, valued at $31.3 million, from Binance, further highlighting the growing interest in Ethereum.
The cryptocurrency market closely watches the SEC’s decisions regarding spot Ethereum ETFs in 2024. Analysts and experts remain optimistic about the approval prospects, with the recent approval of Bitcoin ETFs as a positive precedent. Ethereum enthusiasts and investors eagerly await the potential approval and subsequent trading of spot Ethereum ETFs, which could open up new investment opportunities in digital assets.
