Standard Chartered expects SEC to greenlight spot Ether ETF this week

Many market analysts recently changed their stance after the SEC unexpectedly requested that exchanges update their 19b-4 filings before this week’s deadline.

Standard Chartered — a financial giant with over $800 billion in assets under management — said it expects the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by May 24.

The first round of deadlines for spot Ether (ETH) ETFs is rapidly approaching. The final deadline for the VanEck ETF filing is May 23, followed by the ARK Invest and 21Shares deadline on May 24.

The financial giant has changed its tune on the chances a spot Ether ETF will be approved just a month after claiming that the May approval deadline is unlikely. 

Standard Chartered’s head of FX and digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, said they are “80% to 90%” certain that the SEC will approve spot Ether ETFs later this week.

Kendrick said expected market inflows into the spot Ether ETFs in their first year could be between 2.39 and 9.15 million Ether or about $15 billion to $45 billion.

He said the estimates are similar to spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF estimates and added that based on Bitcoin price predictions of $150,000, they expect Ether to grow similarly and reach about $8,000 by the end of this cycle.

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Many market pundits who were almost certain that Ether ETF applications would be rejected recently changed their stances after the SEC asked exchanges to update their 19b-4 filings before the May deadline.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas — who had lowered the chance of approval to 25% — has now increased it to 75% in the run-up to the final deadline. Fidelity has already filed an amended proposal after the SEC’s request, declaring that the Ether under its management in the ETF won’t be staked.

Amid the growing odds in favor of the SEC approving a spot Ether ETF, the second-largest cryptocurrency rose by double digits and reach a new multiweek high of over $3,800.