Against the backdrop of the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States, Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, has surged by over 10%. This significant growth, reaching an annual high, follows the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs and positions ETH as a potential favorite for future spot ETF approvals.
Experts highlight a shift in trader sentiment, marking it as a pivotal moment. They anticipate that spot ETFs for ETH could be next in line for approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Major companies such as BlackRock, Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, VanEck, and Fidelity have submitted applications for Ethereum spot ETFs. Richard Galvin, co-founder of DACM, notes that Ethereum's size, liquidity, and the availability of CME futures make a physical ETF on ETH viable in the U.S.
Consensys' Chief Strategist, Lawrence Smith, emphasizes that SEC approval is just the first step, with a high likelihood of a spot Ethereum ETF following suit.
Bloomberg analysts express confidence that the new instrument based on the second-largest cryptocurrency will likely be approved by spring, with a 70% probability. Their previous predictions about the approval date for Bitcoin spot ETFs have proven accurate.
The beginning of January marked the final approval by Ethereum testnet update developers. The Dencun hard fork is scheduled for January 17 on the Goerli testnet, followed by the Sepolia update on January 30 and the Holesky update on February 7.
Dencun is expected to introduce the EIP-4844 proposal, known as "proto-sharding," aimed at scaling the network and reducing transaction fees on second-layer networks using rollup technology. Overall, these events shape Ethereum's position in the current cryptocurrency landscape, raising questions about its long-term role and impact on the market.
