Ethereum ETF Approved, So Why Haven’t ETH Prices Skyrocketed?

• Spot Ether Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have been officially approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pending the S-1 registration statements greenlight. 
• However, the ETH price has failed to react positively to this milestone as it declines by 5% in the last 24 hours. 

The Crypto News Flash recently reported the approval of a series of spot Ether ETF applications by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), preparing the grounds for the product to begin trading later this year. As captured in the publication, the approval includes an ETF from VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity and others following earlier appeals from legislators urging the Commission to apply the same principles used for the spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Later, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart explained that the commencement of the Ether ETFs trading hinges on the completion of the S-1 registration statements despite their 19b-4 filings approval. According to him, this could take from a few days to several months. Surprisingly, this has failed to trigger a price surge for ETH despite earlier expectations. At press time, ETH was trading at $3,692 after declining by 5% in the last 24 hours. 

In investigating the reasons why the price has barely moved since this landmark approval, crypto commentator Zach Rynes observed that almost all investors “who wanted to buy the approval have already done that.” Interestingly, this position appears validated by the 22% surge recorded in the last seven days after rumours of potential approval started making waves. 

Analysts Comment on the Ethereum (ETH) Price Reaction 

Another reason linked to the lack of movement is the fact that the ETFs have not been cleared to launch. At the time of writing, VanEck had already submitted its amended S-1 filing to the Commission. Once this gets approved, the price would record an explosive run triggered by the ETF inflows according to Rynes. Fascinatingly, this position is echoed by crypto research firm Second Mountain. 

Approval: Expect a massive capital inflow in the first week, potentially reaching billions. Grayscale’s ETHE Ethereum Trust alone holds approximately $9 billion worth of ETH (2.94 million ETH), which could readily convert to the ETF. This surge of investment would boost the Ethereum ecosystem, potentially pushing the prices of related altcoins higher.

To them, Ethereum could surge as high as $4,891.70 after launch. Contrary to this, some analysts also argue that the immediate price impact would be slow as witnessed in the post-spot Bitcoin ETF approval on January 10. According to our data, Bitcoin recorded a 15% decline after the approval, and it took the leading crypto 30 days to stage a 30% surge to $51,870. 

For the current development, concerns have started building around the plan of Grayscale to convert its Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into a spot Ether ETF. To some experts, this could lead to a massive outflow as witnessed in its spot Bitcoin ETF.

Interestingly, data confirms that $17.6 billion in assets has been shed by the GBTC since it started trading. In the case of Ethereum, independent Ethereum educator Sassal believes that the asset is “stupidly undervalued”, and has had only three days to “price in the ETF approval.”

Crypto trader Rho Rider also issued a warning on the Grayscale’s announcement:

Grayscale also re-filed the ETHE registration they’d withdrawn. Remember GBTC outflows? Now it’s $11B+ ETH that’s been trapped for 7 years.