British bank Standard Chartered expects the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a spot Ethereum ETF in May, drawing parallels with the approval of a Bitcoin ETF. Analyst Jeff Kendrick predicts stable growth for ETH ahead of approval, as well as a price of $4,000 even before a decision is made. Such optimistic estimates were not affected by the SEC’s recent postponement of BlackRock’s ETH-ETF application, which resulted in the deadline being extended by another 45 days.
Standard Chartered: Rapid Growth in the Price of Ethereum
Standard Chartered’s bullish outlook on the Ethereum-ETF approval process is due to the similarities with the BTC-ETF adoption in 2023. The bank expects the SEC to use the entire period, and a decision will be made on May 23. Jeff Kendrick believes that Ether’s market dynamics, combined with a smaller stake in the underlying trust compared to Bitcoin, could lead to a more stable price path even after approval.
Standard Chartered Opinion on Why will the SEC Approve ETH-ETF in May?
Despite recent speculation fueled by the sell-off in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust following its conversion to a spot Bitcoin ETF, Kendrick remains bullish on Ethereum in a similar scenario, forecasting a potential 70% upside for the asset. Kendrick is confident that in the near future the regulator will begin to postpone applications – just as it did with spot Bitcoin ETFs. He names the preliminary approval date as May 23. Then the deadline for applications from asset managers such as VanEck and Ark/21Shares will end.
Hester Pierce Calls for ETH Spot ETFs to Be Approved
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, known in the crypto community as “cryptoMom,” also spoke about funds for the second cryptocurrency. She called on the regulator to approve the new instrument and said that no court order would be required to approve ETH spot ETFs.
What will happen to the price of ETH?
If the situation with the rate repeats and it grows amid the hype, the cost of ETH could jump by 70% by May. In this case, the second cryptocurrency will trade at $4,000, Kendrick believes.
Between BlackRock’s first application for the BTC spot ETF and January 10, the price of Bitcoin has risen cumulatively by 85%, from $17,000 to $47,000. Prior to the approval of the tool, Kendrick predicted that the value of BTC would rise to $100,000 by the end of this year. According to experts at The VR Soldier , Ethereum is now trading at $2,337. Over the past 24 hours, the rate has strengthened by 1.4%, and over the week – by 4.7%. The price of Bitcoin at the same time is $42,963. The first cryptocurrency, on the contrary, has dropped by 0.7% over the past 24 hours.
