‘Winter is over’ — Bullishness returns in wake of Ether ETF anticipation

Many industry pundits speculate the SEC’s sudden change of pace on spot Ether ETFs could be a result of increased political pressure.

Crypto bulls are seemingly back in full force after speculation that an approved spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) is more likely than ever.

It comes amid reports that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has U-turned on spot Ether ETFs — possibly due to political pressure — with reports stating it has asked ETF exchanges to update their 19b-4 filings.

Ether (ETH) has pumped 19.4% over the last 24 hours to trade at $3,685 at the time of writing — its highest price since April 9, according to CoinGecko.

While it isn’t clear what caused the sudden shift, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas and other industry pundits speculate that it could be due to a “turning tide” in Congress regarding crypto.

“An approval suddenly looks likely,” Henrik Andersson, the chief investment officer at asset manager Apollo Crypto, commented to Cointelegraph.

“There is a turning tide in Washington that got ignited by SAB 121 where members of both parties voted to block the bill,” Andersson said. He added that crypto-owning Americans could be “an important group of voters in this election year.”

“It could mean the winter is over and it’s time for a US renaissance in crypto,” Adam Cochran, partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, voiced in a May 20 X post.

Ryan Sean Adams, one of the hosts of the Ethereum podcast Bankless, says a political shift could mark the end of “operation choke point 2.0,” a spree of SEC lawsuits and new-found support for cryptocurrency-friendly regulation.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said he has never felt more “confident” in the cryptocurrency industry and the institutional adoption that could follow over the next 12 to 24 months ahead of the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit.

Related: Financial system ‘outdated’ but crypto is no fix either — US swing voters

Digital assets have become an increasingly important issue as the U.S. election nears.

Republican candidate and political rival Donald Trump recently made several efforts to win support from the industry, including at a dinner that he hosted with dozens of nonfungible token enthusiasts at his Florida home on May 8.

During the dinner, Trump gained brownie points among the crypto crowd after promising to help prevent more local innovators from fleeing offshore. He also used the event to mock President Joe Biden’s knowledge of crypto.

BREAKING: DONALD TRUMP IS FINE WITH CRYPTO pic.twitter.com/SCJDKdHQUB

— Frank (@frankdegods) May 9, 2024

Some speculate that this has spurred the Democrats to also seek “political points.”

A Digital Currency Group-conducted poll recently found that an election candidate’s position on cryptocurrencies could impact how people in several swing states decide to vote.

The U.S. presidential election will be held on Nov. 5, 2024.