- Bitwise CIO Matt Hogan said it would be good for cryptocurrencies if the SEC delayed approval of the Ethereum ETF until December.
- The comments came as market participants said the chances of approval in May were decreasing.
- Bitcoin ETFs have shattered expectations, with massive inflows of $12 billion in just a few months.
- One expert doubts that BlackRock may even withdraw its pending Ethereum ETF application.
Hopes that the US will soon give the green light to an Ethereum exchange-traded fund are fading. And Bitwise's chief investment officer said that's a good thing.
“Dear Wall Street, traditional financial institutions are just starting to embrace this big thing called Bitcoin,” Matt Hogan, chief investment officer at the asset management firm, said in London on Tuesday. He spoke during a panel discussion at the Digital Asset Summit. “We need another eight to nine months to digest Bitcoin.”
Hogan told X after the event that his comments were controversial as the hype around the Ethereum ETF lingers.
VanEck is the first Ethereum ETF application to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator is expected to decide on the outcome of the application on May 23.
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Hogan's surprising opinion comes as market participants focus on Ethereum after Bitcoin became the fastest-growing ETF sector since its SEC approval in January. .
This month's trading volume was $65 billion, with Bitcoin inflows smashing expectations and bringing in $12 billion.
But expectations for an Ethereum counterpart have waned, with Bloomberg Intelligence analysts this month lowering the odds of approval in May to just 35%.
“It’s good for the industry.”
If the SEC extends that deadline to December, “that would be a net benefit for the crypto industry and ultimately for ETH ETF flows,” Hogan said at the event.
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“A Spot Ethereum ETF will attract more assets if it launches in December than if it launches in May,” he added of X.
“I tend to agree,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seifert wrote in Hogan's repost of X.
Seifert reiterated his bearish stance on May 23, saying that unlike its approach to Bitcoin ETFs, “the SEC is not engaging with issuers on the specifics of Ethereum.”
Bitwise does not have an active Spot Ethereum ETF filed with the SEC.
It's different this time
Jake Cherbinski, Chief Legal Officer of Valiant Funds, said: Said According to X, one key difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin applications is that the SEC does not face the same legal pressure it has with Bitcoin ETFs.
In August, Grayscale won a court victory against regulators that “essentially forced” it to approve the ETF, Chervinsky wrote.
Adding to the pressure, two U.S. senators drafted a letter last week urging the SEC not to approve other crypto-based exchange-traded products.
Eric Balciunas, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the letter shows “buyer's remorse” following the success of the Bitcoin Spot ETF. Said.
He added that that pressure is part of the reason he and his colleagues are currently pessimistic that the Ether ETF will be approved.
Possibility of withdrawal from Blackrock
Earlier this month, Chervinsky cited the “political headwinds” the SEC had over the spot approval of a Bitcoin ETF as a sign that the SEC could ask BlackRock and other Ether ETF applicants to withdraw their applications. I mentioned it.
BlackRock and the SEC have a “cooperative relationship,” Chervinski said, which could lead to BlackRock withdrawing its Ethereum application.
“I'm sure you will,” he said.
BlackRock did not respond to a request for comment on the ETF application.
Tyler Pearson is a market correspondent for DL News based in Alberta, Canada. Any tips?Please contact ty@dlnews.com.
