Jake Chervinsky, Fund Chief Legal Officer at cryptocurrency company Variant, warned that spot Ethereum ETFs are less likely to be approved in the United States by May than expected.
“I'm not saying for sure that the Spot Ethereum ETF won't be approved by May 23. I'm just saying that the legal issues and policy environment in Washington make rejection (or the SEC's withdrawal request) more likely than general sentiment suggests,” Chervinsky said. .
Many major companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton, have applied for a spot Ethereum ETF in recent months. Despite BlackRock's history of only one ETF rejection, which many in the crypto community see as a positive sign for spot ETH ETF approval, Chervinsky disagrees. He criticized the idea that 'BlackRock always wins' as a “lazy bull view”.
In January, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggested that the SEC had a 70% chance of approval by May 23, the deadline for Ark and 21Shares to decide on the spot ETH ETF application, which was their first application.
Balchunas responded to Chervinsky's comments by stating that he and ETF analyst James Seyffart will announce new official rates soon. However, he downplayed the importance of spot ETH ETFs compared to spot Bitcoin ETFs, likening it to the opening show following the headliner.
In contrast, Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, predicted that spot Ethereum ETFs will be a bigger event than most expected. He also argued that demand for a spot Bitcoin ETF has been severely underestimated, noting that ETH has a third of Bitcoin's market cap.
*This is not investment advice.