According to Bloomberg, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to approve exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding the cryptocurrency Ethereum in May. May 23 is the final date for the agency to consider ETF applications from VanEck and Ark 21Shares, according to a research report by Standard Chartered. The bank expects the SEC to rule on the applications on the final date, as it did on January 10, when it approved 10 Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum has key similarities to Bitcoin's legal and financial status, suggesting it will follow a similar approval pattern. In June, the SEC excluded Bitcoin and Ether from a list of 67 tokens it considered to be securities. Additionally, Ether, like Bitcoin, has futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a key surveillance tool.

With a market value of about $285 billion, Ether is the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Standard Chartered predicts Ether's price will rise to $4,000 by the projected May 23 approval date, assuming it follows a trading pattern similar to Bitcoin through the ETF approval process. Ether traded at about $2,370 on Tuesday. However, this price prediction is based on multiple assumptions being true, including general market sentiment for approval remaining low, implied-volatility being wrong, and the SEC approving multiple applications on the same day.

Standard Chartered also expects Ether to avoid much of the selloffs that Bitcoin experienced post-ETF approval. These factors should make Ether less vulnerable than Bitcoin to a post-approval selloff, according to the bank.