In a historic moment, the SEC shook the crypto market and approved the Ethereum ETF. This landmark decision came after months of skepticism and speculation.
Experts can’t help but compare it with the SEC’s decision in January 2024 regarding the Bitcoin ETF. As expected, the news has filled the market with anticipation and excitement. The resurgence is pushing traders to wonder how Ethereum’s (ETH) market value will be affected.
The quest for an Ethereum ETF dates back a while. However, it really picked pace in mid-2023 when the SEC publicly started discussing crypto ETFs and how they can potentially manipulate the market.
In September 2023, the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) launched its Ether futures contracts. The decision sparked a new wave of interest among institutional investors. Many saw this as the biggest step towards the Ethereum ETF approval in 2023.
Huge names like VanEck and BlackRock leveraged the momentum and filed for their Ethereum ETF approval with the SEC. Their application proposed different ETF structures, where some held derivative contracts and others physically backed ETH.
Come 2024, corporations like the Coin Center and the Blockchain Association showed public support for the asset. Their comments were submitted to the SEC and emphasized the growth of the regulatory guidelines surrounding cryptocurrencies.
The SEC made history in January 2024 by approving the first-ever Bitcoin ETF in the US. However, the SEC Chair, Hary Gensler, reiterated his concern regarding ETFs in March 2024, right before the approval.
Now that the SEC has finally approved the Ethereum ETF, traders are expecting a Bitcoin-like movement. Unlike popular belief, the widespread success of the Bitcoin ETF did not lead to its market price skyrocketing instantly.
The success did boost Bitcoin’s performance; however, its real implications came a couple of months later. Bitcoin broke its previous all-time high record and passed the 71k-dollar mark. Seeing how closely Ethereum trails Bitcoin, the market is expecting a similar market performance in the coming months.
However, Ethereum must stay cautious of the changing regulatory guidelines. If the regulatory bodies keep supporting the ETFs, Ethereum will also hit the 10k-dollar mark soon.
