Ethereum is up by a healthy 20% in the last 30 days, with the approval of applications for eight spot-based ETFs being the major driving force behind this gain.
The SEC issued these approvals on Thursday, May 23, with its surprise decision sending the price of Ethereum to a two-month high of nearly $4,000, as traders went into a mini-frenzy.
Yet crypto’s biggest altcoin has stalled over the past couple of weeks, partly because the market remains indecisive and partly because the eight ETFs haven’t actually launched yet.
However, the eight applicants have begun filing the S-1 forms that will enable them to bring their funds to the market as early as this month, with their launches likely to bring a steady increase in volumes and demand that could see Ethereum reach record highs this year.
Ethereum exchange-traded funds have a history stretching back to April 2021, when the Canadian securities regulator approved the world’s first Ethereum ETF.
This was a spot-based ETH ETF managed by Purpose Investments, which had also gained Canadian approval for a similar ETF for Bitcoin in February of the same year .
Yet approval for spot-based Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs seemed very elusive in the United States, with the Securities and Exchange Commission remaining opposed for years , based on its concerns regarding possible market manipulation .
The regulator’s stance began to change in the latter half of 2023, following its “disappointing” result in its case against Ripple , as well as in the wake of growing criticism from the cryptocurrency industry and its sympathizers in Congress .
By the end of the year, the SEC was meeting with Bitcoin ETF applicants and advising them on filing and refiling info prior to application
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