Expectations that the highly anticipated Ethereum Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) will be approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have continued to drop. In this regard, Justin Sun, founder of the Tron network, has made a significant prediction on the regulatory chances of Spot Ethereum ETF, indicating that it is unlikely that the approval will come through by the May deadline.
Uncertainty Around Ethereum Spot ETFs
Early this year, the cryptocurrency industry was optimistic about the Ethereum spot ETFs, but as the decision date of May 23 approaches, there seems to be rising pessimism about the SEC approving the products.
Tron founder, Justin Sun, seems certain that the spot ETH ETFs will not be approved by the SEC in the following month, expressing negative sentiment. According to Sun, in order to assist authorities and regulators in understanding cryptocurrency, the crypto industry still needs to get ready for a lengthy education process, even though he thinks the industry has already been here.
The post read:
My honest opinion (NFA) is that an Ethereum ETF won’t be approved in May. The crypto industry still needs to prepare for a long-term education with regulators, focusing on helping them understand crypto. But we have always been here, haven’t we?
Sun is not the only popular figure in the crypto space that has recently expressed doubt about the spot products getting a green light from the regulatory watchdog. Last week, the President of the ETF store, Nate Geraci hinted that the products might not be accepted because of the SEC’s much-reduced involvement with ETH spot ETF issuers in comparison to prior interactions.
While Geraci believes that this is correct logically, he also wonders if the Commission took a lesson from the clown show with Spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, the president has identified two potential outcomes for the spot ETH ETFs, which include Commission clearance or legal action.
Spot ETH ETFs Approval Odds Plummets
Since the request for a spot ETH ETF arose, the likelihood that the exchange funds will be approved in May has gotten thinner. Data from Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market platform, shows that the chances of acceptance are now estimated at 11%. When the Spot ETFs for Bitcoin were approved on January 10, the odds were measured at 76%, suggesting a significant decrease over time.
Also, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas has put his approval odds around 35%, which is a drop from his initial prediction of 70% in February. The Bloomberg expert indicated that he believes the Commission should approve the spot ETH ETFs for several reasons.
However, this time, none of the sources or signs that provided him with an optimistic 2.5-month prognosis for Bitcoin spot ETFs are present. Even though Balchunas’ odds toward the May deadline have decreased, he believes the spot products are likely to get accepted in the long term.
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com