Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were climbing on Tuesday. Hopes were high for the approval of a new class of exchange-traded funds tied to Ether.
was up 6.2% over the last 24 hours to $70,964.
—the second-largest crypto—was up 19% at $3,667.
The jump came as traders speculated on whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve an application for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund, or ETF. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote on social-media platform X on Monday that he had increased his odds that the SEC approves a spot ether ETF later this week to 75% from 25%.
On May 23, the agency faces a final deadline to make a decision on an application by VanEck for changes that would let it launch an ETF holding spot Ether.
The SEC’s Trading and Markets Division informed asset managers Monday morning to amend filings, known as 19b-4 filings, and refile them with the amendments, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The updated filings, which typically seek permission to allow the listing of a new kind of ETF, are expected to go live in the coming days.
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“Despite the progress so far, it is not guaranteed that the ETFs will launch on May 23 or soon after, as S-1 registration statements also need to be approved for an Ethereum spot ETF to launch, which could take weeks or months to complete,” wrote eToro analyst Simon Peters in a research note on Tuesday.
It also remains to be seen whether the rise in prices will stick. Bitcoin hit a record high near $74,000 in mid-March amid a surge of interest from new spot ETFs but its price has dropped since then.
Smaller cryptos or altcoins were also rising, with
climbing 7.5% and
gaining 7.5%.
rose 8.0%.
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Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
