Geoffrey Kendrick of Standard Chartered Bank expects the SEC to approve a U.S. Ethereum ETF on May 23.

From initial rejection to approval, Standard Chartered expects the Ethereum ETF to bear similarities to the SEC’s approach to the Bitcoin ETF.

The bank’s head of foreign exchange and digital asset research, Geoffrey Kendrick, believes that an Ethereum ETF in the U.S. will be approved by the end of May. Kendrick compared the situation to that of a Bitcoin ETF and believes that the price of Ethereum (ETH) could reach $4,000 by then due to hype.

Kendrick’s confidence comes from the fact that the SEC did not consider ether, which is already traded as a futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, to be a security in its legal action.

“Grayscale, which owns the Ethereum Trust, wants to convert it into an ETF. If they are denied, they may appeal,” he said, adding that there is no reason for the SEC to treat Ethereum differently.

Kendrick is generally optimistic about cryptocurrencies and their price valuations. Kendrick predicts that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of this year and $200,000 by 2025. He believes these targets are possible, especially given the expected continued inflows into Bitcoin ETFs.

After the Bitcoin ETF was approved, the price of Bitcoin fell slightly due to outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, but the price of Bitcoin has since rebounded and is currently around $43,540. Kendrick believes that Ethereum will not face the same post-approval price drop because the Grayscale Ethereum Trust does not have as large a share of the Ethereum market as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust has in Bitcoin.

Kendrick expects the SEC to approve a basic Ethereum ETF that follows the price of Ethereum on May 23. He added that ETFs that include additional returns from staking could come later and already exist in Europe.

Kendrick also spoke about Ethereum’s upcoming upgrade, which he said should make Ethereum more competitive and keep rewards high for longer, which in turn will be good for Ethereum’s price. #以太坊ETF  #渣打银行