The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to either approve or reject spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this week.
The last deadline for the SEC to decide on VanEck's application is set for May 23. The proposal jointly filed by Cathie Wood's investment management firm ARK Invest and ETF issuer 21Shares will get its verdict from the agency the following day.
The list of contenders to launch a spot Ethereum ETF also includes such names as BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, Galaxy Digital, Franklin Templeton, and Hashdex.
Arman ShirinyanThe SEC is very likely to reject spot Ethereum applications. Industry observers believe that this will be the case based on the lack of engagement between the agency and ETF issuers.
While it is almost certain that the SEC is going to reject these products for now, it remains to be seen what official reason for the rejection is going to be stated in the agency's upcoming order. Bitwise's Matt Hougan suggested that the ETF could be rejected due to insufficient data. Meanwhile, some legal analysts like Scott Johnsson believe that the SEC might recognize the underlying asset as an unregistered security in its order.
Alex DovbnyaA new 2024 low against Bitcoin
Meanwhile, Ethereum recently reached a new yearly low against Bitcoin (0.044 BTC) on May 16. It has managed to recover about 6% from that yearly low. However, the sentiment remains bearish due to the upcoming ETF decision.
The flagship altcoin is currently trading at $3,104, according to CoinGecko data. It is up 8% over the past week.
Yuri Molchan
