Ethereum ETF next? Here’s when analysts expect approval

On Wednesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler begrudgingly approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, sparking a new era for digital assets.

Now, the question is whether Ethereum ETFs are far behind.

If you ask online bettors, ETF pundits, and crypto market analysts, they all agree: Ethereum funds are next.

Will an Ethereum ETF be next?

There is a 74% chance that an Ethereum ETF will be approved by May 31, according to online bettors on prediction market Polymarket.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst and crypto’s go-to ETF pundit Eric Balchunas has similarly put the odds of the SEC giving Ethereum funds a thumbs up by May at 70% when speaking with Cointelegraph.

The SEC has to decide on several Ethereum ETF applications by May 23.

Financial powerhouses BlackRock, Fidelity, and Ark Invest are already among the institutions that have applied for spot Ethereum ETFs.

Market analysts also expect a spot Ethereum ETF may be in the works.

“With Ethereum futures ETF already live and Ethereum futures trading on CME, the same rationale for ETF spot approval should apply,” Gautam Chhugani, managing director at investment advisory firm Bernstein, wrote in a research report on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Standard Chartered analysts wrote in a research report “that the SEC is ultimately likely to allow spot ETH ETFs” because Gensler has not previously listed Ethereum among the coins and tokens the agency deem to be securities.

The analysts also hinted how they thought the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum may change in the lead-up to a potential approval, looking at how the price of gold and silver changed when their respective exchange-traded products were launched in 2004 and 2006.

“Gold outperformed after its ETP was introduced in the US, presumably on actual inflows, whereas silver outperformed in the lead-up to its ETP (presumably on anticipated flows into the relatively less liquid silver market),” the analysts wrote. “Silver then gave back its relative performance after its ETP was introduced.”

Other voices remained more cautious.

It has “taken us a very long time to get the SEC comfortable” with Bitcoin ETFs, Leah Wald, CEO of alternative asset management firm Valkyrie, told CoinDesk, adding that “we have a lot of work to do” to get the agency comfortable about Ethereum.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is up more than 4% on the day, trading just above $47,000.
• Ethereum is up over 10% on the day, trading at over 2,600.

What we’re reading

• SEC approves Bitcoin ETFs for BlackRock, Fidelity and nine other issuers as new era dawns for crypto — DL News
• Hackers Seize CoinGecko X Account, Promotes Fake Token Sale — Milk Road
• More Than 91% of Bitcoin’s Circulating Supply Is in Profit — Unchained
• Ripple Plans $285M Equity Repurchase, Valued At $11 Billion — Milk Road
• Bitcoin ETF fever sends crypto trading volume to 18-month high of $1.3tn — DL News