JPMorgan Cautious on Spot Ethereum ETFs Approval by May Deadline

• If the SEC wants to approve spot Ethereum ETFs, it should consider ETH a commodity.
• Panigirtzoglou claims that the SEC has not changed its stance on other cryptocurrencies.

The first deadline for the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds is in May, but JPMorgan isn’t placing major bets on it. According to JPMorgan’s Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, if the SEC wants to approve spot Ethereum ETFs in May, it should consider Ethereum a commodity, like bitcoin, rather than a security.

Panigirtzoglou further added:

 “This is far from given, and I wouldn’t put more than a 50% chance to the SEC classifying Ethereum as a commodity before May.”

Stance on Crypto Classification Not Changed

After more than a decade of denial, the SEC finally gave the go-ahead for spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this week. Due to the significant price increase of ether (almost 20%) above bitcoin (2.5%) during the last week, traders are placing bets that spot Ethereum ETFs may be approved next.

Panigirtzoglou, however, claims that the SEC has not changed its stance on the classification of other cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin as securities. According to JPMorgan last year, US authorities may consider reclassifying ether to a “other category” last year in order to prevent it from being considered a security.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler reaffirmed last year that tokens that use staking protocols—like Ethereum’s ETH token—may be regarded as securities in accordance with US law.

Last year, at a nearly five-hour session with lawmakers, Gensler would neither confirm or deny whether Ethereum was considered a security. In addition, Gensler said earlier this week that the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs should not be seen as an indication of the Commission’s readiness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities.

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