According to "The Block" report , Standard Chartered Bank, which was previously optimistic, has now changed its stance on Ethereum spot ETFs, saying that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is unlikely to approve such funds in May. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of foreign exchange and digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, wrote in a report released on Tuesday (23rd):
“We previously expected the SEC to approve an Ethereum ETF on May 23. This was based on the view that the Ethereum approval process would follow a similar trajectory to the Bitcoin ETF approval (which the SEC approved in January), and that the SEC and There will be constructive dialogue between ETF applicants, just like what happened before the Bitcoin ETF was approved. However, so far, this dialogue has not happened (or at least has not been made public), which indicates that the May 23rd approval date. It’s unlikely to happen.”
The U.S. SEC earlier on Tuesday delayed its ruling on the Ethereum spot ETF applications filed by Franklin Templeton and Grayscale, with the schedule postponed to June 11 and June 23 respectively. Last month, the SEC also delayed ruling on other Ethereum spot ETF applications, including those from VanEck and BlackRock.
Standard Chartered is not the only one whose optimism about the approval of Ethereum spot ETFs in May has faded. Last month, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said he was pessimistic about the possibility of such ETFs being approved in May, believing that the chance was only 25%, down from 70% in January. Alex Thorn, head of Firmwide Research, a research arm of Galaxy Digital, also said that it seems "extremely unlikely" that an Ethereum spot ETF will be approved in May.
Approval is expected
However, in the long term, Standard Chartered Bank remains optimistic about the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF, similar to JPMorgan Chase’s view . Standard Chartered also maintained its year-end price predictions of $150,000 for Bitcoin and $8,000 for Ethereum.
Kendrick wrote in the report:
“The gradual removal of negative drivers should allow Bitcoin’s bullish structural drivers to prevail. Higher Bitcoin prices will also boost Ethereum; even if US ETFs are not approved in May, the global ETF environment continues to improve, We anticipate eventual U.S. approval."
