Ether bulls continue to push towards $4000 following the ETH spot ETFs approval.

Ethereum bulls continue to push the second largest crypto closer to the psychologically important $4000 level following the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) decision to approve ETH spot ETFs.
 

However, actual trading of these instruments will begin later, as ETF managers require separate SEC approval of their regulatory filings.

As of now, there is no clear timeline for this process, but some say it could take weeks or even months to complete.

Those on the waiting list include giants such as BlackRock Inc, Fidelity and Franklin Ethereum ETF. The list of exchanges whose applications have been approved includes NYSE Arca, NASDAQ and CBOE BZX.

The SEC's decision to give the ether ETFs the green light has managed to push the ETH token up 26% in the past week - the biggest weekly gain since the 2021 crypto bull run.
 

A commodity or a security?

With the approval, the long-standing debate about the classification of ETH is now over. Given the specific wording used to describe the newly approved product - "commodity-based trust shares" - Ether is a commodity rather than a financial security.

The implications of this may go far beyond Ether itself. For example, if more cryptocurrencies are classified as such, regulatory power may be split between the SEC and the CFTC.

CFTC - US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

What's next?

Similar to the launch of BTC spot ETFs, this may lead to increased interest from institutional investors.

Some market participants estimate that the approval could lead to an inflow of $45 billion in the 12 months following the approval, with the potential for the ETH price to reach $8000 (~108% upside potential) by the end of 2024.