What Awaits in May 2024? Spot Ethereum ETF Approval or Denial?

• James Seyffart reinforces his pessimistic thoughts on the SEC’s Ethereum ETF approval.
• The analyst points out the SEC’s prolonged silence on the matter as a sign of the potential denial of the ETF approval.
• In a previous post, Seyffart posited that the SEC would reject the applications by May.

James Seyffart, an ETF Research Analyst at Bloomberg, reiterated his pessimistic beliefs on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Ethereum ETF approval. Seyffart remains cynical about the ETF approval due to the SEC’s prolonged silence on the matter.

The analyst’s recent X post came in response to multiple posts to which he was tagged. These posts shared insights on the SEC’s recent move that involved a notice regarding Cboe BZX Exchange’s proposal to list an Ether-based exchange-traded trust. In a November 2023 filing with the SEC, the exchange proposed a rule change to list and trade shares of the Fidelity Ethereum Fund.

However, Seyffart, who remains hopeless about the Ethereum ETF launch, commented that the regulator’s recent move doesn’t signify anything substantial. He cited,

“I’ve been tagged in this tweet and bunch of others regarding the 19b-4 documents filed for the Ethereum ETFs today. Nothing in the filings signals to me that anything has changed. Silence from the SEC isn’t a good thing here.”

In a recent revelation, Seyffart commented that the SEC is most likely to deny the ETF applications by May 2024, a month which most previously believed to witness the ETF approval. Though Seyffart also previously held optimistic beliefs regarding the SEC’s positive approach, in his recent post, he announced that his beliefs waned.

Similarly, Eric Balchunas, another prominent figure in ETF analytics, opined on the disappearing positive sentiments on the SEC’s Ethereum ETF approval. He stated that the odds of the Spot Ethereum ETF being approved by the SEC remain low and declined to 35%.