- US SEC seeks comment on ETH ETF filings for Grayscale, Bitwise and Bitwise.
- The analyst maintains a low probability of approval in May and calls the comments “standard procedure.”
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened a public comment period for Ethereum [ETH] ETF submission changes linked to Bitwise, Fidelity and Grayscale.
The public comment period will last 21 days. This development has excited some crypto users, who are calling the development a “giga bullish” scenario for ETH.
Unfortunately, one of the industry analysts poured cold water on it. James Seyffart, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, called the public comment box ‘standard procedure’.
“Soliciting public comments on a 19b-4 is standard procedure. Every single 19b-4 ETF application goes through the same process (approved or denied). It is not ‘bullish’ for Ethereum ETFs in any capacity.”
ETH ETF: Approval Dilemma in May
When asked if BlackRock could get approval for its spot in the Ethereum ETF, Seyffart said:
“Good question. I guess they wouldn’t back down, but I wouldn’t trust Larry to pull a rabbit out of the hat either. Haha. Our chances are low, but zero for a reason.”
That is a real dilemma for May’s approval.
Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon and Reindel, claims that the SEC could reject approval in May due to the risk of market manipulation.
“I think the SEC will, at least initially, deny or deny the applications. I think they will rely on similar arguments that there is a risk of market manipulation, that they need more supervision.”
Furthermore, Enzer highlighted that ETH staking could be one of the biggest concerns for the SEC.
Amid the May approval dilemma, ETH has fallen 9% on the weekly charts, from $3645 to $3200, partly due to Bitcoin’s price decline. [BTC] huge setback.
Should the bearish overhang from the current unfavorable macro front persist, ETH bears could extend the decline to a psychological level of $3000.