In recent days, Eleanor Terrett, frequently mentioned in the context of the spot Bitcoin ETF process, made statements reflecting a not-so-positive outlook for investors expecting a spot Ethereum ETF. This perspective was based on the views held by the SEC. Today, however, authorities at the globally renowned bank Standard Chartered made a new statement on the matter.
Approach to Spot Ethereum ETFs
According to a Standard Chartered Bank official, despite the skeptical approach presented by those closely involved with the issue, Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds could get approval and start trading by the latest deadline of May 23.
Geoffrey Kendrick made the following statement in recent hours:
“My view is still that they will be approved by May 23. However, I would like to note that this is no longer a consensus view. If the ETFs are approved, I predict that in the first 12 months, there will be an inflow of 15-45 billion dollars, using the same logic I applied to BTC ETF entries.”
Earlier this year, Kendrick had stated that spot Ethereum ETFs could potentially be approved on May 23. The Securities and Exchange Commission took a significant step in the past by not classifying ETH as a security in its legal proceedings against crypto companies.
In a report published by Kendrick on Monday, he mentioned that the announcement by the London Stock Exchange to accept applications for exchange-traded notes backed by BTC and ETH in the second quarter of the year “contributed to the likelihood of the US SEC approving ETH ETFs on May 23.”
Kendrick also added that most market watchers have weak faith in the SEC approving spot Ethereum ETFs on May 23.
Last week, Bloomberg senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas, also frequently mentioned during the spot Bitcoin ETF process, lowered his expectations for the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF in May, reducing his January expectation from 70% to 30%.
While Kendrick continues his hopeful anticipation for the May 23 date, he points out that, considering the pattern observed with BTC ETFs, significant volume could flow into ETH directed by ETFs following potential approval.
The report included the following statement:
“We estimate that spot ETFs will bring in 2.39-9.15 million ETH in the first 12 months after approval. This roughly translates to a value between 15 billion and 45 billion dollars.”
What Will the Ethereum Price Be?
According to Kendrick, if spot Ethereum ETFs are approved on the mentioned date, the price of ETH could rise to 8,000 dollars much sooner than expected. Kendrick believes the price could reach 8,000 dollars by the end of 2024, despite previously indicating 2026. Kendrick also went further to predict that ETH could reach 14,000 dollars by the end of 2025.
“Especially, we believe that ETH will keep up with BTC and the current price ratio of 5.4% will continue for the remainder of 2024.”
Considering Standard Chartered’s statement made earlier in the day that BTC could reach the 150,000 dollar level by the end of 2024, this could imply an ETH level of 8,000 dollars.
On the other hand, Kendrick mentioned that considering a BTC price of 200,000 dollars at the end of 2025 would mean an ETH price rise to 14,000 dollars.
In today’s ETH report, Kendrick also shared the following words:
“Coincidentally, our estimated inflows for BTC and ETH are similar as a percentage of coins in circulation,” he said. “Our estimates for BTC inflows range from 2.2% to 6.7% of the total circulating coins; for ETH, the equivalent percentages are 2.0-7.6%. We are comfortable with the ETH ranges being slightly wider due to its marginally higher volatility.”
