- Cryptocurrency Spot ETFs Will Be Next After Ethereum ETF
- Standard Chartered expects Solana and XRP ETFs to be “a 2025 story”
- Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart agrees that more ETFs will arrive “in a few years”
- Ethereum Spot ETFs Received US SEC Approval Yesterday
- Standard Chartered remains bullish on Bitcoin and Ether
The recent approval of the first spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US market is opening the door to a whole range of cryptocurrency-based ETFs. That seems to be at least the opinion shared by several analysts, including experts at Standard Chartered bank.
The head of digital assets and forex research at Standard Chartered, Geoffrey Kendrick, anticipates that the next narrative in the cryptocurrency market will be spot ETFs of tokens such as Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP), according to the media reported this Friday of news The Block, which cited a note written by the specialist.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday approved eight Ethereum spot ETF proposals, including those from BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale . Following the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in January, this is now the second type of fund that will offer US investors direct exposure to the prices of a cryptocurrency.
The approval from regulators came unexpectedly and in an apparent change of stance by the SEC motivated by political interests in the US, reports have suggested.
“ The cryptocurrency industry now appears to have political support on both sides of the aisle ,” said Kendrick, who called the event a “ true watershed moment ” and anticipates an upcoming favorable shift in regulatory winds.
Solana ETF is next
According to the Standard Chartered analyst, the regulatory verdict means that the SEC is not classifying Ethereum (ETH) as a security, which could mean that other similar cryptocurrencies that were previously under scrutiny by the agency cannot be considered securities either, according to detailed coverage.
“In several cases, the core technology is so similar to ETH that it would be difficult for the SEC to claim that they were securities given ETH’s position,” Kendrick commented on Solana.
US regulators were clear in identifying XRP as a security in a high-profile lawsuit against Ripple . They have also targeted SOL and other cryptocurrencies as securities in legal actions against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. Those lawsuits are still ongoing.
Kendrick predicts that cryptocurrency ETFs like Solana and XRP will be “a 2025 story.” He’s not the only one who thinks this way. In the middle of this week, as participants anxiously awaited the Ethereum ETF verdict , trader and CNBC commentator Brian Kelly also floated the possibility of a Solana spot ETF.
Responding to speculation, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart agreed that ETFs for other cryptocurrencies could come “within a few years,” after a market regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission is achieved. Commodity Futures Trading (CFTC).
Meanwhile, experts at Bernstein agree that the approval of an Ethereum ETF represents significant regulatory relief for the cryptocurrency sector and will raise expectations that rival assets like SOL will be classified as a commodity instead. of a value.
Standard Chartered remains bullish
The cryptocurrency market did not have the effusive response that many expected after the approval of the latest batch of ETFs. In recent hours, prices have remained relatively flat compared to the momentum at the beginning of the week. Ether led the gains with a jump of more than 20% on Tuesday.
Despite this, Standard Chartered specialists still expect a more than doubling of Bitcoin by the end of 2024. In the recent note, Kendrick said he continues to expect an acceleration of inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which which will potentially push Bitcoin to a price target of USD $150,000.
“A portfolio containing BTC and ETH ETFs is likely attractive and the industry has been further validated by the SEC’s ETH decision,” The Block quoted Kendrick as saying.
The London-based bank reiterated a few days ago its projection of USD $8,000 for Ethereum at the end of the year, after having insisted days before with its bullish projection for Bitcoin .
The newly approved Ethereum spot ETFs have not yet begun trading on stock exchanges, with issuers still awaiting SEC go-ahead for S-1 filings before an official launch.
Bitcoin is changing hands around $67,700 at press time, while ETH is trading around $3,700, with a modest 1.6% loss since this time yesterday.
