Bloomberg Analyst Clarifies Low Odds of US Spot Ethereum ETF Approval

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, who covers ETFs and the broader fund industry, has clarified that the odds of a spot Ethereum ETF being approved in the US remain low. This comes after Seyffart made an April Fools' Day joke about Ethereum ETF approval odds skyrocketing to 99%. Cryptocurrency asset manager Bitwise recently submitted a new Ethereum ETF application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

However, Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst, stated that the odds for Ethereum ETF approval remain at a 'pessimistic' 25%. Balchunas added that he could go 'even lower' than that if he could. Last month, Ethereum ETF approval odds dropped after the SEC delayed its decision on several existing proposals. Legal analyst Jake Chervinsky speculated that political pressure could be one of the key reasons behind the SEC's hesitancy. Additionally, the SEC reportedly plans to classify the second-largest cryptocurrency as a security, which could further complicate the approval process. Despite this, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink clarified that a spot Ethereum ETF could be approved even if the top altcoin ends up being a security. BlackRock filed for a spot-based Ethereum ETF in November, and in January, the SEC approved various spot Bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock, Fidelity, and other prominent names.