Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas stated this morning that the SEC has responded to the S-1 filing for the Ethereum spot ETF, so they have moved up the launch date of the Ethereum spot ETF to July 2. However, experts speculate that these Ethereum spot ETFs may have limited appeal to institutional investors due to the lack of staking functionality.
Bloomberg analyst: Ethereum spot ETF may launch on 7/2
Experts: Ethereum spot ETF may have limited appeal to institutions without staking support
Institutions cancel Ethereum staking plans
ETH vs BTC breaks through $3550
After the SEC approved the 19b-4 rule change documents for 8 Ethereum spot ETFs on May 24, the market continues to focus on when another key listing S-1 registration statement will be approved by the SEC.
During a budget hearing this week, SEC Chairman Gensler finally mentioned, “My expectation is at some point this summer.”
In the early hours of today, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, who has always been closely following ETF developments, posted that the previously anticipated date was July 4, and the progress seems to be continuing as planned.
On the other hand, the amount of capital inflow that the Ethereum spot ETF can attract after listing is also a focus of the market. In response to this, cryptocurrency derivatives trader Gordon Grant recently commented that unlike Bitcoin, directly holding ETH may offer better returns for institutional investors than holding Ethereum spot ETFs. Therefore, he believes that institutional investors are more likely to choose on-chain solutions (directly purchasing Ethereum spot) before the launch of staking Ethereum spot ETFs.
Previously reported by BlockBeats, due to regulatory uncertainties and the SEC’s opposition to staking activities, the currently applied Ethereum spot ETFs have canceled their staking plans one after another.
Further reading:
SEC does not allow Ethereum spot ETF staking? Grayscale, Fidelity, Ark.. Successive cancellation of ETH staking plans
Grant is not the first to make such a statement. At the end of May, JPMorgan released a report stating that the approved Ethereum spot ETFs without staking will reduce their attractiveness as investment products. The report stated that by removing staking from their application documents, these products are less appealing compared to platforms that offer staking rewards.
JPMorgan expects that Ethereum spot ETFs will attract up to $30 billion in net inflows for the remainder of this year. If staking is allowed, this number could increase to as much as $60 billion.
On May 21, Standard Chartered Bank estimated that within a year of approval, Ethereum spot ETFs would bring in between 2.39 million and 9.15 million ETH, equivalent to approximately $15 billion to $45 billion. At the same time, the institution predicted that the price of Ether could reach $8,000 by the end of this year.
Perhaps incentivized by the imminent launch of Ethereum spot ETFs, ETH recovered from its early morning dip to $3,362 and rose over 3% within 30 minutes of Balchunas’ announcement. It is currently still oscillating upwards, temporarily reporting $3,542 before the deadline, with a modest 0.48% increase in the past 24 hours, showing more strength compared to BTC’s 1.2% decline in the past 24 hours.
ETH price trend chart | Source: Binance
Related reports
Hong Kong Ethereum spot ETF will “allow staking”? Yat Siu: Approval probability close to 100%, expected to be realized within a year
Michael Saylor: Approval of Ethereum spot ETF will be more beneficial for Bitcoin, will MicroStrategy buy ETH?
Gary Gensler: SEC approval of Ethereum spot ETF progress will not be too fast… Is it positive for ETH instead?