Analyst Pushes Ethereum ETF Launch to Week of July 8

Anticipation for the spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to begin trading in the United States by July 2 has faced a setback. New information indicates the launch might be delayed until the week of July 8.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas made this revelation on social media platform X while explaining why the Ethereum ETFs might not start trading soon.

This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) returned the S-1 forms to potential Ethereum ETF issuers. Balchunas mentioned that the forms were returned with minimal comments. Issuers, however, might have to wait until after the holidays next week to proceed.

“Unfortunately, I think we have to push back our over/under till after holiday. Sounds like SEC took extra time to get back to people this week (although again very light tweaks) and from what I hear next week is dead because of the holiday. [By] July 8 the process [will] resume and soon after that they’ll launch,” Balchunas stated.

Industry experts initially predicted that the regulator might approve the funds linked to the spot price of ETH before July 4. They based this on VanEck’s submission of a Form 8-A filing for its Ethereum ETF, suggesting imminent trading.

Read more: Ethereum ETF Explained: What It Is and How It Works

However, the Bloomberg analyst implied that some of the applicants’ lapses might have caused the new delay.

“[The] best theory is that not every issuer was as tight with their documents, so one or two of them could have slowed down the process. Or just summer hours/laziness from Staff,” Balchunas added.

Despite the delay, market experts believe the funds could attract significant investment once trading begins. Charles Yu, Vice President of Research at Galaxy Digital, speculated that ETH ETFs might see up to $1 billion in monthly inflows during the first five months.

“If futures markets and international crypto funds are any indication, we would expect ETH etf flows to be 20-50% of bitcoin etf flows. With $15 billion of net inflows into Bitcoin etfs to date, our estimated range implies eth etfs could see nearly $1 billion in monthly flows for the first 5 months,” Yu remarked.

Read more: Ethereum (ETH) Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030

This projection indicates the funds could attract over $11 billion in their first year of trading. Bitwise CIO Matthew Houang shares a similar view, predicting $15 billion in inflows within the first 18 months.

However, Yu also pointed out potential factors that could affect ETF demand. These include the lack of staking, the unwinding of Grayscale’s ETHE, and the funding rate for Ethereum ETFs.