Ethereum ETF Approval Was a Political Decision, Says Bloomberg Analyst James Seyffart
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs was likely influenced by political decisions rather than purely financial considerations.
In an interview with Cryptonews’ Rachel Wolfson at Consensus 2024, Seyffart discussed the timeline and approval process for spot ETH ETFs, including the 19b-4 rule change and the role of the SEC.
Seyffart suggested that the political climate, including actions by the Biden administration and responses from the crypto community, played a significant role for the approval to go through.
On May 23, the SEC officially approved 19b-4 applications from VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise for issuing spot Ether ETFs.
“We think this was a complete political decision. We think it was a 180 from the SEC,” he said.
@EricBalchunas and I cant see it on the front facing website yet but Phoenix is always right in my experience. https://t.co/xI37RVXqRo
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 23, 2024
Initially, there were low expectations for approval due to SEC hostility and lack of communication, Seyffart said during the interview.
He added that the approval was seen as a deviation from the SEC’s usual stance, indicating a potential shift influenced by political pressures.
“I think the SEC, until the week before, was planning to deny the Ethereum ETFs,” he said.
“There’s no smoking gun that says like this is exactly what happened… but that’s all the signs are pointing. There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence.”
He also noted that the decision’s timing aligns with significant political events, such as Trump’s pro-crypto stance and bipartisan support for crypto-friendly legislation.
Seyffart and his boss, Eric Balchunas,
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