Mark Yusko, founder and CEO of Morgan Creek Capital, recently stated in an interview that the probability of Ethereum spot ETF being approved by the SEC and listed in 2024 is less than 50%.
Summary:
“When will the Ethereum spot ETF be approved? 52% of the poll predicts before the end of 2024; TD Cowen, JP Morgan: Not likely to be approved soon.”
Background:
Bloomberg analyst: Ethereum spot ETF expected to be “listed this year”! Probability of SEC approval in May reaches 70%.
Table of Contents:
Mark Yusko: ETH may still be considered a security.
Current status of Ethereum spot ETF applications.
ETH fails to surpass $2,600.
After the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs on the 11th, the market became optimistic about the possibility of Ethereum spot ETF being approved this year. However, Mark Yusko, the founder and CEO of Morgan Creek Capital, who was once optimistic about the Bitcoin spot ETF, poured cold water on the market in a recent interview with Cointelegraph.
Mark Yusko: ETH may still be considered a security.
Regarding the negative attitude towards Ethereum spot ETF, Mark Yusko explained that according to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s implication, even if they approve the Bitcoin spot ETF application, the SEC still has biases against cryptocurrencies. Mark Yusko also added that currently only Bitcoin is considered a commodity with value storage capabilities by the SEC, while Ethereum may still be classified as a security, which is another major obstacle for the approval of Ethereum ETF by the SEC.
Current status of Ethereum spot ETF applications:
It is understood that there are currently 7 Ethereum spot ETF applications awaiting approval from the SEC, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, VanEck, Ark/21Shares, Invesco/Galaxy, and Hashdex. At the same time, the final approval deadlines for VanEck, ARK 21Shares, and Hashdex Ethereum spot ETFs by the SEC fall in May 2024, while the other applications will be decided in the following 6-8 months.
It is worth mentioning that, contrary to Mark Yusko’s viewpoint, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated at the beginning of the year that when the SEC approved 9 Ethereum-related futures ETFs last year, it “implicitly” recognized Ethereum as a commodity, indicating that the first Ethereum spot ETF is expected to be listed this year.
7 Ethereum spot ETFs awaiting approval from the SEC. Source: Bloomberg
ETH fails to surpass $2,600:
In terms of price, although the Ethereum Cancun upgrade officially launched on the Goerli testnet yesterday (17th), there were not many participating validators and fork situations occurred. Coupled with the decline in Bitcoin, ETH broke through $2,600 around 5:00 yesterday (17th) and has been fluctuating and declining since then. At the time of writing, it is reported at $2,527, a 2.3% decline in the past 24 hours.
Image source: Binance Spot
Related reports:
ETH breaks through $2,600 to reach a 20-month high! Layer2 surges, is it time for Ethereum spot ETF?
SEC further delays Grayscale, Hashdex…4 Ethereum spot ETF applications, Bloomberg analyst: Key point is May next year.
7th institution joins the battle! Fidelity applies to establish “Ethereum spot ETF”.