Standard Chartered Bank Expects Spot Ethereum ETF Approval On May 23, Says ETH Might Soar To $4K

Updated: 31 January 2024

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Standard Chartered Bank said it expects a spot Ethereum ETF to be approved on May 23, and that the ETH price might surge to $4,000 in the run-up to the decision.

May 23 is the final deadline for the first of the ETFs (exchange-traded funds) under consideration by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said Geoffrey Kendrick, head of forex and digital assets, in a Jan. 30 report.

Kendrick expects the SEC to follow the same strategy it used in the approvals of spot Bitcoin ETFs. In this scenario, the regulator will likely continue delaying decisions on spot Ethereum ETFs until their final deadlines.

“We expect pending applications for ETH U.S. spot ETFs to be approved on May 23, the final deadline for the first of the ETFs under consideration — the equivalent date to Jan. 10 for BTC ETFs,” he said.

ETH Could Surge In The Build Up To The Spot Ethereum ETF Approval

The analyst also said that ETH could rise to as high as $4,000 if the “ETH prices perform similarly to how BTC prices performed in the lead-up to BTC ETF approval.”

The SEC has not categorized Ethereum as a security, which forms the basis for Kendrick’s belief that a spot Ethereum ETF will soon receive approval. Adding support to the analyst’s prediction is the listing of ETH as a regulated futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The analyst added that the bank sees “no fundamental reason for the SEC to view ETH differently than the CME already does.”

TD Cowen Is Not So Optimistic

Investment bank TD Cowen, on the other hand, says a spot Ethereum ETF may not be approved in the U.S. until late 2025 or early 2026.

“We believe there is no upside for SEC Chair Gary Gensler to approve a spot Ethereum ETF given how upset progressive Democrats were over the agency’s approval of a spot bitcoin ETF earlier this month, ” said TD Cowen Washington Research Group analysts led by Jaret Seiberg, in a Jan. 29 note.