JPMorgan reported that Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have a 50% chance of being approved in May. This data comes at a crucial moment for the cryptocurrency sector, which remains attentive to regulatory deliberations.
As revealed by a report, the ongoing investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into entities associated with the Ethereum Foundation could be decisive for the approval of ETFs. A SEC is scheduled to announce its final decisions by May 23.
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, who leads the JPMorgan analysis team, expressed a conservative perspective: “If there is no approval of the spot ether ETF in May, then we assume there will be litigation against the SEC after May.” This comment points to a possible legal dispute, similar to previous cases with Grayscale and Ripple, if the ETFs are rejected.
Furthermore, the report suggests that increased decentralization of staking of Ethereum can help mitigate the risks of Ether being classified as a security, facilitating its approval as a basis for ETFs.
Regulatory interest and the outcome of SEC investigations are seen as critical factors that could impact not only the approval of Ethereum ETFs, but also the future regulation of cryptocurrency-based financial products.
