Standard Chartered has predicted that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will likely approve a spot ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) in May. The banking giant’s analyst foresees the price of ether rising to $4,000 by the expected approval date.
Standard Chartered’s Ethereum ETF Prediction
Standard Chartered published a note on Tuesday detailing why it expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve spot ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May, Bloomberg reported. The bank’s head of crypto research and Western emerging markets FX, Geoff Kendrick, anticipates the SEC’s approval of spot ethereum ETFs to mirror the agency’s approach to spot bitcoin ETF approvals.
The analyst explained that May 23 is the last date by which the securities regulator must approve or deny spot ethereum ETF applications from Vaneck and Ark 21shares. He expects the SEC to make a decision on the final date, similar to its Jan. 10 approval of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs. Kendrick believes that ethereum’s legal and financial situation closely mirrors that of bitcoin, suggesting a similar approval pattern for spot ethereum ETFs.
However, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler remains evasive on whether ethereum is a security, despite stating that most crypto tokens, other than bitcoin, are securities. The SEC delayed its decisions on two spot ethereum ETF applications last week: one from Blackrock and one from Grayscale Investments.
Ethereum’s Price Could Rise to $4,000, Analyst Says
Moreover, the Standard Chartered head of crypto research explained that ethereum’s price could reach $4,000 by the May 23 approval date if ETH follows a similar trajectory to bitcoin during its ETF approval process. At the time of writing, ether is trading at $2,370.
Kendrick’s $4,000 ETH price target hinges on several key assumptions, including general market sentiment for approval remaining low, implied volatility being wrong, and the SEC approving multiple spot ethereum ETF applications on the same day as it did with spot bitcoin ETF applications.
While bitcoin’s price experienced a selloff after the spot bitcoin ETF approvals as investors, including FTX, exited the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Standard Chartered believes that etherum will avoid much of the selloff bitcoin faced. The analyst noted that Grayscale’s existing Ethereum Trust holds a smaller portion of the total market capitalization of ether, compared with the bitcoin held in GBTC. He emphasized:
These factors should make ETH less vulnerable than BTC to a post-approval selloff.
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered said early this month that the price of bitcoin could hit $200K in 2025.
Source: Bitcoin
