Standard Chartered Eyes $8,000 ETH Price Following SEC Nod for Ethereum ETF

A notable researcher at Standard Chartered has expressed confidence that the U.S. SEC will approve the first round of Ethereum spot ETFs this week, projecting a market value of $8,000 for ETH to follow. 

Notably, anticipation around the SEC’s approval for Ethereum ETFs has recently gained momentum. This is due to recent pivotal developments amid the looming deadline for pending applications.

For instance, the SEC’s decision on VanEck’s Ethereum spot ETF is due in two days. Also, the deadline for Ark Invest’s application follows closely on Friday, May 24. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. regulator has reportedly requested updates to 19b-4 filings from exchanges. According to sources familiar with the development, the SEC made the request on Monday. 

Prominent market commentators have interpreted the SEC’s demand for updated documents as a bullish sign that approval is imminent. This is reflected in the sentiments of Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart. Specifically, Balchunas and Seyffart have revised their likelihood projection from the earlier pessimistic 25% to a significant 75%.

Ethereum Set for $8,000 Target This Year After Approval

During a recent interview, Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Assets Research, asserted that approval will surface this week. He conveyed an 80% to 90% certainty of the SEC’s approval outcome.

Accordingly, Kendrick predicts that the approval of the ETFs could result in a demand for 2.39 to 9.15 million ETH tokens, translating to an estimated $15 billion to $45 billion in the first year post-approval.

This influx is expected to mirror the market impact of Bitcoin ETFs, which have seen inflows aligning with Standard Chartered’s projections. Kendrick’s analysis suggests that Ethereum could maintain its price ratio with Bitcoin, potentially holding at the current 5.4% for the remainder of 2024. 

According to the Standard Chartered researcher, this would imply an ETH price of $8,000 assuming Bitcoin reaches $150,000 by the end of 2024. With ETH trading at $3,771 at press time, the $8,00 target suggests a further 112% increase in price.

Meanwhile, $8,000 is not Standard Chartered’s peak target for ETH in this cycle. Previously, the bank forecasted ETH to rise to $14,000 by the end of 2025. The outlook aligns with its estimated Bitcoin price of $200,000 next year.