By
Svetlana Soroka
June 14th, 2024
On Monday, the SEC requested for updates to 19b-4 filings for spot Ether ETFs.
Standard Chartered has joined the list of observers who believe that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve Ether ETFs this week. That is because the deadlines for the first round of spot Ether ETF filings are only a few days away, with VanEck’s on May 23 and Ark Invest and 21Shares on May 24.
Standard Chartered Confident of Spot Ether ETFs Approval
Geoff Kendrick, Head of FX Research and Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, has expressed strong confidence in the upcoming approval. Kendrick shared that the level of optimism towards seeing the approval this week now falls between 80% and 90%.
Notably, Kendrick’s commentaries follow a recent action by the SEC. On Monday, the regulator requested for updates to 19b-4 filings for spot Ether ETFs. This move was immediately greeted by enthusiasm as many thought that it was a major step towards potential approval.
More interesting is the fact that the approvals were previously looking bleak as there is an ongoing investigation into Ether’s status as a potential security. Also, some fund managers had claimed that the SEC was not engaging them about spot Ether ETFs as much as they’d expected.
Without a doubt, SEC’s Monday request may have just increased the odds. A high-ranking member at an issuer was quoted in a report by The Block saying:
“The issuers are being asked to update their 19-b4s. The updates are relatively light.”
Ether’s Path to $8,000 by Year-End
With the high optimism around, Kendrick has emphasized the impact that these approval may have on the market. He estimates that spot ETFs could drive inflows of between 2.39 and 9.15 million Ether (ETH) within the first year. That is somewhere between approximately $15 billion and $45 billion.
In a detailed analysis note, Kendrick highlighted that the approval of Ether ETFs should help it to keep up pace with Bitcoin. Moreover, considering the current 5.4% price ratio throughout 2024 and Standard Chartered’s projection of Bitcoin reaching $150,000 by 2024 end, Ether should ascend to around $8,000 within the same timeframe.
Furthermore, Kendrick repeated the bank’s March forecast, which says that Bitcoin may hit $200,000 by the end of 2025. If that holds true, then Ether could also soar to $14,000.
While the final decision remains pending, the current market momentum and expert analysis suggest that approval is just underway. The implication of this is that it marks a new era of growth and institutional investment for Ether and the wider crypto market.