The recent approval of Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has opened the doors for more crypto investment products, according to research from TD Cowen’s Washington Research Group.
While the speed of approval caught some off guard, the research group viewed it as an inevitable outcome following the approval of Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
Jaret Seiberg, a member of TD Cowen’s team, noted that the Ethereum ETF approval came about six months earlier than expected but was predictable after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the green light to crypto futures ETFs.
Seiberg further suggested that within the next year, we could see investment offerings that include a “basket of crypto tokens,” encompassing Bitcoin and ٍther, and potentially even more.
However, the approval of Ethereum ETFs does not indicate a broader shift in the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrencies.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler, known for his critical stance on the crypto industry, issued a critical statement regarding the passage of crypto legislation that could potentially diminish the agency’s authority.
Gensler highlighted the industry’s history of failures, frauds, and bankruptcies, attributing them not to a lack of rules but to many players in the crypto industry disregarding the existing regulations.
His statement was released before the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT 21, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.
While Gensler’s agency may face challenges, TD Cowen predicts that the SEC will maintain its Democratic majority until 2026.
The research group expects the agency to continue litigating against crypto trading platforms that trade tokens deemed unregistered securities by the SEC.
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