Investment Bank TD Cowen Predicts Unlikely Approval of Ethereum Spot ETF by US SEC in Near Future.

Investment Bank TD Cowen Predicts Unlikely Approval of Ethereum Spot ETF by US SEC in Near Future.

Investment Bank TD Cowen Predicts Unlikely Approval of Ethereum Spot ETF by US SEC in Near Future.

According to a report by The Block, investment bank TD Cowen believes that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will not approve an Ethereum spot ETF in the near future. TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group, led by Jaret Seiberg, stated in a report last week:

Several major companies, including BlackRock and Fidelity, have recently submitted applications for Ethereum spot ETFs, and the first deadline for reviewing such funds is set for May.

SEC Chairman is not eager to take action
While approving Bitcoin spot ETFs, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated that due to the federal court’s ruling against SEC in the lawsuit filed by Grayscale Investments, the SEC had almost no choice but to approve these funds. Gensler stated at the time, “While we approved the listing and trading of several Bitcoin spot ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse Bitcoin,” and added that he maintains his view that “the vast majority of crypto assets are investment contracts and therefore subject to federal securities laws.”

TD Cowen states that the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs is consistent with the bank’s view that Gensler is “taking a slow approach similar to the institution’s rulemaking for the ABS market.” The bank also stated that this approval “will not expedite the timeline for cryptocurrency market structure legislation.”

TD Cowen states:
According to TD Cowen, Gensler’s term will end in June 2026, and until then, he may maintain the Democratic Party’s majority position at the SEC. The bank stated, “This is another reason why we believe Gensler is not eager to take action,” and added that Gensler has time to file more cases and wait for more court rulings instead of trying to rush legislative action.

TD Cowen concludes:
JPMorgan: Probability does not exceed 50%
After the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs, traders are now betting that an Ethereum spot ETF may be the next approved product, with Ethereum (ETH) price rising over 10% in the past week. According to previous reports by Zombit, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas believes that the possibility of an Ethereum spot ETF being approved in May this year is as high as 70%, while Standard Chartered Bank predicts the approval timeframe to be in the second quarter of this year.

However, apart from TD Cowen, there are other analysts who are not optimistic about the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF in the short term. JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated in an interview with The Block last week:

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