Ether ETF approval faces an uphill battle in May, Standard Chartered warns
The bank restated its year-end Bitcoin and Ether targets at $150,000 and $8,000, respectively
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Analysts have warned that an Ethereum ETF might not mirror the success of Bitcoin ETFs. The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January helped fuel a rally in the biggest cryptocurrency. However, Standard Chartered is not bearish on the overall digital asset market despite its changing view on the prospects for an Ether ETF.
The cryptocurrency market has endured a perfect storm of negative headwinds in recent weeks, but the investment bank believes the worst is over, and the market is well-positioned to recover. "Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows have stalled, and ether ETFs now look unlikely to be approved in May as expected," said Geoff Kendrick, an analyst at Standard Chartered.
According to the investment bank, the SEC has taken aim at the decentralised finance (DeFi) space by suing Uniswap, while the US Treasury yields have jumped and Federal Reserve rate cuts have been pushed back. These macroeconomic factors, coupled with the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, have put downward pressure on risky assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
However, Standard Chartered remains cautiously optimistic about the long-term prospects of the digital asset market. The bank believes that the bad news is already priced in for both Bitcoin and Ethereum and "positive structural drivers" are expected to take over again. Also, the bank has reiterated its end-of-year price targets of $150,000 for Bitcoin and $8,000 for Ethereum.
