Standard Chartered Bank shared an opinion that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is following the same path for spot Ethereum ETFs as it did for spot Bitcoin ETFs, starting with rejections and expecting approval by the final date of May 23.
Statement from Company Official
Geoffrey Kendrick, who serves as the head of forex and digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, published a report on Tuesday, stating:
We expect the applications for ETH U.S. spot ETFs, which are pending, to be approved by the deadline of May 23 – a date equivalent to January 10 for BTC ETFs. If ETH prices show a similar performance to BTC prices during the process leading to BTC ETF approval, ETH could rise to $4,000 by that time.
According to Kendrick, listing ETH as a regulated futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is moving it step by step towards the final outcome.
There is also an ETH trust that Grayscale wants to convert into an ETF, so a rejection of this application will likely lead to another appeal by Grayscale. We see no fundamental reason for the SEC to view ETH differently than the CME already does.
Official Optimistic About ETFs
It is a known fact that Kendrick is optimistic about cryptocurrencies and their prices. At the beginning of January, he mentioned his expectation of an influx of $50-100 billion through funds before the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs, and he predicted that Bitcoin’s price could reach $100,000 by the end of the year and $200,000 by the end of 2025.
In his report published today, Kendrick reiterated his view and added that the $100,000 price prediction is still achievable. He expressed his belief that the steady inflows likely to occur in spot Bitcoin ETFs will also increase the BTC price day by day.
On the other hand, Kendrick mentioned that ETH has a lower sell sensitivity compared to Bitcoin and added:
The main reason is that the Grayscale Ethereum Trust has a smaller share of the total ETH market value than GBTC had before the approval of BTC ETFs; and the holdings within FTX are even lower.
Noteworthy Details in Ethereum ETFs
According to Kendrick, it seems possible that simple Ethereum ETFs, which only trade based on spot ETH price movements, could be approved on May 23. He also mentioned that ETFs including staking yield rewards could be introduced to the market later.
In Europe, both types are available; AETH (21Shares Ethereum Staking ETP) is the largest ETF that includes staking yield rewards. However, considering that AETH has higher fees than ETH, the staking rewards balance out the fees.
Kendrick also shared his thoughts on Ethereum’s eagerly awaited upgrades, Dencun or Proto-Danksharding, and stated that they will contribute to ETH’s development.
Overall, since lower Layer 2 fees make ETH more competitive and slower staking will keep staking rewards higher for a longer period, these upgrades should result in more value being captured in the ETH ecosystem. Both are positive for ETH prices.
