The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the country’s first spot Bitcoin ETF, simultaneously greenlighting 11 such ETFs on January 10. This move has shifted the focus to Ethereum, with speculation arising about a potential spot Ethereum ETF approval.
The year 2023 saw numerous asset management firms, including industry giant BlackRock, submitting applications to the SEC for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. The increased interest followed BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF filing in June and its Ethereum ETF filing in November.
With 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs already trading on U.S. exchanges, attention is now turning to other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. Several firms, including Grayscale Investments, which is seeking to convert its Ethereum Trust into a spot ETF similar to its flagship product GBTC, are awaiting SEC approval.
However, the SEC continues to delay decisions, with most applications now postponed until May. The SEC’s history of long deferrals or rejections for crypto ETFs suggests that approval for a spot Ethereum ETF may not be imminent.
A survey by on-chain data analysis platform Santiment indicated that over 52% of participants expect a spot Ethereum ETF to be approved by the end of the year in the U.S. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price is anticipated to rise significantly before any SEC approval, similar to Bitcoin’s price movement prior to its ETF approval.