VanEck CEO Jan van Eck has expressed skepticism about the approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May. In an interview with CNBC on April 9, van Eck stated that his firm’s spot Ethereum ETF application will “probably be rejected.” VanEck, along with Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, was among the first to file for a spot Ether ETF in the United States. Both firms are currently waiting for a final decision, scheduled for May 23 and May 24, respectively.
Van Eck highlighted the regulatory process, explaining that regulators provide comments on the application, and in the case of Ethereum, there has been a lack of feedback. CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti shares a similar pessimistic view, stating that he does not anticipate any approvals happening in the near future. The SEC has been inactive on the seven pending applications for spot Ether ETFs for an extended period. This lack of communication between the regulator and prospective fund issuers contributes to the decreasing likelihood of an ETF approval in May.
Van Eck’s Ether ETF application is one of seven awaiting approval, including those from Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity. Analyst Eric Balchunas, who previously assigned a 70% chance of approval in May, has now revised his odds to 35%. He reiterated van Eck’s sentiments and highlighted the need for the SEC to provide comments and critical feedback, which has been lacking so far. ETF analyst James Seyffart echoed this sentiment, expressing concern about the SEC’s months-long inaction when the applications were expected.
In other news, spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have seen a reversal in investor sentiment, experiencing net outflows since the beginning of the week after four consecutive days of inflows. The main contributor to this shift was Grayscale’s GBTC spot ETF, which recorded a single-day net outflow exceeding $303 million on Monday and an additional $154 million on Tuesday. However, other Bitcoin ETFs have seen net inflows during this period, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF leading the way.
VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF, known as HODL, is currently the fifth largest among the recently launched funds (excluding Grayscale). Since its launch in mid-January, it has seen an inflow of $461.7 million. Van Eck emphasized the success of Bitcoin ETFs, describing Bitcoin as a “maturing asset” and noting that there are still many investors who have yet to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency.
