Hedge Funds Anticipate SEC Approval of Spot Ethereum ETFs

Sigel stated that hedge funds are strategically positioning themselves in anticipation of the ETFs’ approval

Matthew Sigel, the director of digital assets research at VanEck, thinks that financial institutions are preparing for the imminent launch of spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, even though the funds are still awaiting regulatory approval.

On June 18, Sigel stated in a social media post that hedge funds are strategically positioning themselves in anticipation of the ETFs’ approval due to their active anticipation.

He further stated that data from K33 Research indicates a substantial increase in inflows to Ether exchange-traded products (ETPs) outside of the US markets, which implies that large investors are positioning themselves for the regulatory approval of spot Ethereum ETFs.

Sigel asserts that:

“Hedge funds are front-running the ETH ETF approvals, ETH on exchanges is near an all-time low, and fundamentals are improving. I could be eating BBQ HODL hat by July 4th. And you’re bearish?”

CryptoQuant, a blockchain analytics firm, reported a decrease in the supply of ETH on exchanges, which indicates the accumulation of Ethereum by significant players. This observation is corroborated by that data.

‘Open-source Application Store’

Sigel stated in a recent interview on the Bankless podcast that VanEck regards Ethereum as an “open-source App Store,” thereby positioning it as a more productive and versatile asset than Bitcoin.

The firm thinks the broader market for income-producing assets could ultimately lead to Ethereum ETFs becoming more successful than their Bitcoin counterparts.

Sigel asserts that:

“Overall, there’s a bigger market for income-producing assets than for inert assets like Bitcoin (BTC). It’s not impossible that in a decade, the market for an Ethereum ETF could surpass that of Bitcoin.”

Sigel underscored the necessity of educating conventional financial market participants about the importance of Ethereum. He employed analogies to elucidate the potential of ETH, emphasizing its productive nature and capacity to enable anyone to establish a storefront on its network at a lower cost than those of major technology companies.

Additionally, he stated:

“We think of Ethereum as a productive asset that offers an open-source App Store with integrated payments functionality. We aim to elucidate the mechanics of how Ethereum works and provide a detailed analysis of its profit and loss statements.”