SEC Files Fidelity’s ETF, but Approval Odds Remain Low

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed Fidelity's spot Ethereum ETF application. 

However, according to analyst James Seyffart, ETF approval odds remain low despite the recent filing. "Nothing in the filings signal to me that anything has changed," the analyst said on the X social media network. 

The analyst has added that silence from the SEC is not a good thing, which implies that ETF approval remains unlikely for now. 

As reported by U.Today, Ethereum approval odds remain at a mere 25%, according to leading analyst Eric Balchunas.

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Last month, multiple legal analysts opined that the SEC was likely to reject Ethereum ETFs due to political pressure. Moreover, recent reports suggest that the SEC is preparing to approve multiple Bitcoin ETFs. 

Fidelity originally jumped into the race to launch a spot Ethereum ETF back in November. In March, it added staking to its application. 

In late March, cryptocurrency asset manager Bitwise submitted an Ethereum ETF application. Other companies that are vying to launch such a product include BlackRock, Grayscale, and Ark Invest. 

Concerns over centralization 

The SEC is now reportedly on track to classify Ethereum as a security following the protocol's transition to the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in September 2022. Even though SEC Chair Gary Gensler previously said that Ethereum was not a security back in 2018, the centralization of staking activities might have prompted him to change his assessment.                 

In its recent report, Fidelity Digital Assets expressed concerns about Ethereum's growing validator set, arguing that it could lead to increasing centralization as well as technical difficulties. A substantial increase in bandwidth will force self-hosted nodes to call it quits.