The U.S. securities regulator’s decision to approve Ethereum (ETH) spot exchange-traded funds may not have been a last-minute decision driven by political pressure, according to analysts at the research firm and Bernstein brokerage.
One of the main theories behind the SEC’s sudden change in tone towards Ethereum ETFs in May was growing political pressure from Democrats to win over influential voters in the run-up to next November’s US elections.
However, that narrative began to look less credible after President Joe Biden vetoed the SEC’s Employee Accountability Bulletin (SAB) bill, Bernstein analysts Gautam Chugani wrote. and Mahika Sapra in a June 3 report.
“The SEC knew it was in trouble regarding the ETH ETF” because it shares the same regulatory setup as Bitcoin ETFs – including the same spot link, same futures contracts, and many live Ether futures products on the stock market, Chicago Trading analysts said – indicating. market status of ether.
“(It is likely) that the SEC took a more pragmatic approach and avoided the legal battle.”
“Regardless, the result is excellent for the industry,” Bernstein analysts added.
Bernstein said she spoke with a few immediate ether ETF applicants who were “equally surprised” by the SEC’s last-minute approval.
“No one expected the SEC to approve the Ethereum ETF. The silence of SEC staff in the period leading up to the approval date was interpreted as a potential rejection. However, ETF issuers were required to resubmit 19b-4 within 24 hours, or 4 days before the approval date. “
about: SEC decision means ETH and “many” other tokens are not securities
Like most analysts, Bernstein expects one-time Ether ETF inflows to be much lower than Bitcoin, although “there should be pent-up demand from the same Bitcoin ETF participants.”
The company expects a positive development in Ether prices in the period leading up to the launch.
The SEC officially approved 19b-4 applications from VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy and Bitwise to issue Ethereum spot ETFs on May 23.
The eight approved ETF issuers are now waiting for their S-1 registration statements to be signed by the SEC, which could take weeks or even months.
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