A JPMorgan govt recommended on Jan. 12 that securities regulators are equally more likely to approve or disapprove a spot Ethereum ETF within the coming months.
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, a Managing Director for JPMorgan, instructed The Block:
“In our opinion, for the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] to approve spot Ethereum ETFs in Could, it will must classify Ethereum as a commodity (just like bitcoin) reasonably than a safety … That is removed from given, and I wouldn’t put greater than a 50% likelihood to the SEC classifying Ethereum as a commodity earlier than Could.”
He added that the SEC is “nonetheless signaling that it continues to view all different cryptocurrencies outdoors bitcoin as securities.”
Panigirtzoglou’s feedback allude to a assertion from SEC chair Gary Gensler concerning spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) approvals on Jan. 11.
There, Gensler mentioned that the most recent approvals concern solely ETPs holding Bitcoin (BTC) and recognized Bitcoin as a non-security commodity. Gensler added that the approvals mustn’t sign the SEC’s views on the securities standing of different crypto belongings; he additionally asserted that the “overwhelming majority of crypto belongings are funding contracts” and subsequently beneath federal securities legal guidelines.
Different sources predict as much as 70% approval odds
Regardless of Panigirtzoglou’s low approval estimate, some sources place larger odds on an upcoming spot Ethereum ETF approval. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has predicted a 70% likelihood of such an approval by Could.
One prediction market on Polymarket means that there’s a 57% likelihood of an Ethereum ETF approval by Could 31. These odds are primarily based on over $15,000 value of cryptocurrency bets reasonably than any particular person’s private stance.
Predictions largely give attention to Could as a result of the SEC should determine on a spot Ethereum ETF utility from VanEck by Could 23. Different candidates together with BlackRock, Constancy, VanEck, ARK Make investments, and Invesco Galaxy have additionally filed for spot Ethereum ETFs, however with later choice deadlines.
The SEC authorized quite a lot of ETFs that included Ethereum futures in October 2023 however has not but authorized a spot Ethereum ETF.
The submit JPMorgan analyst predicts 50% likelihood of spot Ethereum ETF in Could appeared first on CryptoSlate.
