Ethereum spot ETF approval in May unlikely, says Justin Sun

Belief
in
near-term
spot
Ethereum
ETF
approval
is
fading
in
the
face
of
mounting
skepticism.
Justin
Sun,
the
founder
of

TRON
Foundation,
has
expressed
doubts
regarding
the
potential
approval
of
a
spot
Ethereum
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
in
the
upcoming
month.

“My
honest
opinion
(NFA)
is
that
an
Ethereum
ETF
won’t
be
approved
in
May.
The
crypto
industry
still
needs
to
prepare
for
long-term
education
with
regulators,
focusing
on
helping
them
understand
crypto.
But
we’ve
always
been
here,
haven’t
we?”
Sun

stated
in
a
recent
post
on
X.

His
comments
reflect
a
broader
sentiment
within
the
industry
that
regulators
are
yet
to
fully
grasp
the
fundamentals
of
crypto.

The
crypto
industry
has
long
actively
engaged
with
regulators,
but
progress
feels
stagnant.
Sun
is
not
the
only
person
frustrated
by
the
slow
progress
of
crypto
regulation.

“Where
I
think
you
have
less
successful
regulatory
regimes
is
when
you
try
to
analyze
crypto
through
the
lens
of
traditional
finance.
You
say,
‘Well,
is
it
a
bit
like
a
security?
Is
it
a
commodity?’…
No,
it’s
kind
of
none
of
those
things.
It’s
crypto,”
Oliver
Linch,
CEO
of
Bittrex
Global,

said
in
an
interview
with
CNBC.

Skepticism
is
rising,
particularly
after
people
involved
in
meetings
between
the
SEC
and
issuers
told
Reuters
that

the
possibility
is
slim.
Major
institutions
like
JPMorgan
and
Bernstein
also

share
this
doubt
about
the
SEC’s
alleged
lack
of
interaction.

However,
there
are
still
glimmers
of
optimism.
The
involvement
of
BlackRock,
known
for
its
high
success
rate
(576
ETF
approvals
with
only
one
rejection),
raises
hopes
for
the
potential
approval.

Grayscale’s
perspective
also
offers
some
counterpoints.
Craig
Salm,
Grayscale’s
Chief
Legal
Officer,
believes
the
SEC’s
lack
of
engagement
with
applicants
isn’t
a
dealbreaker.
He
pointed
out
that
the
SEC
engaged
with
issuers
during
the
approval
process
for
spot
Bitcoin
ETFs,
and
those
solutions
could
also
apply
to
Ethereum.

1/
Recently,
there’s
been
a
lot
of
chatter
about
spot

#Ethereum
ETFs.
I
personally
am
not
deterred
by
it
and
believe
the
ETFs
should
be
approved.
But
right
now
I
want
to
talk
about
how
I
think
perceived
“lack
of
SEC
engagement”
should
be
viewed
at
this
point:

—
Craig
Salm
(@CraigSalm)

March
25,
2024

The
SEC’s
decisions
on
the
filings
by
VanEck
and
ARK
are
expected
on
May
23
and
May
24.
With
the
prevailing
pessimistic
view,
an
approval
would
come
as
a
pleasant
surprise,
while
a
delay
or
rejection
potentially
impacts
the
market
in
the
short
term.