Standard Chartered Bank, in its latest report published on Tuesday, stated that spot growth in May Ethereum predicts that the exchange-traded fund will be approved. Following regulatory approval, the bank expects a rally for Ethereum. Additionally, he predicts it will reach $4,000 by May, predicting a potential increase of 70% from its current price.
Approval Expected By May
Standard Chartered’s research team, led by renowned analyst Geoff Kendrick, predicts that Ethereum will mirror the course of Bitcoin. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely delay decisions regarding spot Ethereum ETF approval by initially rejecting the issuer and eventually approving it.
The date for this delayed approval of the Spot ETH ETF is tentatively set for May 23. However, the bank claims that the market should be more accurate about the likelihood of approval at the moment.
Geoff Kendrick, Head of the SCB Research Team, quoting a section of the report subtitled “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
Pending applications for ETH US spot ETFs will be approved on May 23, the deadline for the first of the ETFs under consideration – an equivalent date of January 10 for BTC ETFs. If ETH prices perform similarly to BTC prices until BTC ETF approval, ETH could rise to $4,000 by then.
he stated.
Underlining that there is “no fundamental reason” for the SEC to treat ETH differently than Bitcoin, the report emphasizes that ETH futures are already listed on the regulated Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
Opposing Views
On the other hand, a few days ago investment bank TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group suggested that the delay in approving spot Ethereum ETFs was more of a political pressure on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. TD Cowen predicted that spot Ethereum ETFs will likely be approved by 2025-2026 and at least this year. As the US Elections approach in November 2024, Gensler is expected to delay confirmation and be more cautious.
Standard Chartered expects ETH prices to closely track or potentially outperform Bitcoin as the approval date approaches, drawing parallels with Bitcoin’s 85% rise following ETF approval.
The report suggests that ETH may face less selling pressure compared to Bitcoin following ETF approval. This is attributed to the fact that the Grayscale Ethereum Fund (ETHE) has a smaller market share of Ether’s capitalization than the Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC) and the FTX bankruptcy estate has fewer shares held.
Koinfinans.com In summary, as we reported, expectations regarding the Ethereum spot ETF approval date appear to be everywhere in the market. However, market expectations also reflect confidence that Ethereum ETFs will be approved, whenever that may be.