JPMorgan has expressed skepticism regarding the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May. Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, a representative from JPMorgan, stated that the SEC would need to classify Ethereum as a commodity, similar to Bitcoin, rather than a security for the approval to take place. However, he believes that the chances of this happening before May are less than 50%.
Despite the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC, following a decade of rejections, and the surge in the price of Ether by nearly 20% in the last seven days, the SEC continues to view all other cryptocurrencies outside Bitcoin as securities. This view is maintained even though traders are betting that spot Ethereum ETFs could be next in line for approval.
Last year, JPMorgan suggested that U.S. lawmakers could potentially categorize Ether into a new “other category” to avoid classifying it as a security. This suggestion came amidst the SEC Chair, Gary Gensler’s reiteration that tokens using staking protocols, such as Ethereum’s ETH token, could be considered securities under U.S. law. Gensler has refused to confirm whether ETH is a security and stated that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs does not indicate the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities.
Despite JPMorgan’s skepticism, some analysts, including Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart, are more optimistic about the approval of spot ETH ETFs. The SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs was partly due to its previous approval of Bitcoin futures ETFs and a federal court ruling that the SEC must review its rejection of Grayscale’s attempt to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF. Recently, several firms, including BlackRock and Fidelity, have filed for spot ETH ETFs.
The Block, an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data, is majority-owned by Foresight Ventures as of November 2023. Foresight Ventures also invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry.
The author of this article, Yogita Khatri, is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. She has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives, and scoops and holds the records as The Block’s most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance.
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| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Yogita Khatri, Gary Gensler, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, James Seyffart |
| Companies | Foresight Ventures, Bitget, Fidelity, BlackRock, Bloomberg Intelligence, The Securities and Exchange Commission, The Block, JPMorgan |
| Currencies | Bitcoin, Ethereum |
| Securities | None |
