Eric Balchunas, a leading ETF analyst at Bloomberg, has projected the launch of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by late June, marking a significant development in the cryptocurrency market.
This prediction follows BlackRock’s recent amendment to its Form S-1 filing for the iShares Ethereum Trust, which was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 29. This crucial step came almost a week after the SEC approved BlackRock’s 19b-4 filing, setting the stage for the ETF’s eventual trading debut.
“Good sign. [Probably] see rest roll in soon,” Balchunas remarked in a May 29 post on X. He suggested that there might be another round of adjustments to fine-tune the SEC’s comments, but he believes an “end of June launch [a] legit possibility.” Nonetheless, Balchunas maintained that his odds of approval were higher around July 4, noting that an earlier approval would be a “long shot.”
James Seyffart, another Bloomberg ETF analyst, supported Balchunas’ forecast, indicating that BlackRock’s updated S-1 reflects substantial interaction between issuers and the SEC, suggesting progress toward launching spot Ethereum ETFs.
The amended S-1 filing by BlackRock included significant information about its seed capital investor, responsible for funding the ETF’s initial trading activities. According to the filing, on May 21, a BlackRock affiliate acting as the seed capital investor agreed to purchase $10,000,000 in shares, acquiring 400,000 shares at $25.00 each. The ETF will trade under the ticker “ETHA.”
On the same day, Hashdex withdrew its application for a spot Ether ETF, despite having received SEC approval alongside BlackRock and seven other issuers.
Analysts are optimistic about the potential impact of these ETFs on Ethereum’s value. Some speculate that Wall Street will leverage these ETFs to bet on the growth of Web3 technologies.
“The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s green light for spot Ether ETFs is a watershed moment for the crypto industry. It builds on the success of Bitcoin ETFs, offering a secure and regulated way for investors to access Ether. This broader acceptance will fuel mainstream adoption and reflect a maturing regulatory environment, paving the way for further legitimizing the entire digital asset space,” Sumit Gupta, Co-founder of CoinDCX, told Crypto.news in an earlier statement.
“Bitcoin rose to over $73,000 from $42,000 in the two weeks after the ETF started trading on January 11… Similarly, it is anticipated that a spot Ether (ETH) ETF could drive an [Ethereum] rally of as much as 60%,” he added.
Despite the bullish sentiment, some analysts warn that Ethereum might face price pressure as the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) could see $110 million of average daily outflows for weeks after it converts, and its discount narrows.
Cardano (ADA), another significant player in the crypto space, has faced its challenges. Created by Charles Hoskinson, one of Ethereum’s co-founders, Cardano aimed to address scalability, sustainability, and interoperability issues that earlier blockchains faced. Its proof-of-stake system, Ouroboros, promised a greener and safer blockchain.
Cardano achieved notable milestones, such as the Alonzo upgrade in September 2021, which introduced smart contracts, and the Vasil hard fork in 2022, aimed at boosting scalability. These upgrades positioned Cardano as a potential leader in the decentralized finance (DeFi) arena, with applications like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
However, Cardano has struggled to maintain momentum. Its peak price of $3.10 in September 2021 has since plummeted to around $0.46 as of May 29, marking an 85% drop. This decline has fueled speculation, including from crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, known as BitBoy Crypto, who noted in an April 6 video that other networks are gaining more recognition while Cardano remains less known among the general public.
As the crypto market anticipates the potential launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, the coming weeks will be crucial for Ethereum and the broader digital asset ecosystem.
