• Standard Chartered Bank says the SEC could approve spot Ethereum ETFs on May 23, the final deadline for applications currently before the regulator.
• Ethereum price could surge to over $4,000 by then, the bank said in a report.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to give a nod to the first spot Ethereum ETF in May, the Standard Chartered Bank said in a report on Tuesday.

In particular, the bank’s analysts see the regulator approving the ETH spot ETFs on May 23. According to the bank’s note shared with clients and reported on by The Block, the May date is the final deadline for applications before the SEC.

“We expect pending applications for ETH U.S. spot ETFs to be approved on May 23, the final deadline for the first of the ETFs under consideration — the equivalent date to Jan. 10 for BTC ETFs,” Geoffrey Kendrick, Head of Forex and Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, said.

ETH price could surge to $4,000

The SEC recently delayed spot Ethereum ETF applications for BlackRock and Fidelity. However, should the regulator approve the ETF proposals before it, the price of Ethereum could skyrocket. In the lead up to the approval, Standard Chartered sees a potential spike to $4,000.

“If ETH prices perform similarly to how BTC prices performed in the lead-up to BTC ETF approval, ETH could trade as high as $4,000 by then.”

Bitcoin price rallied following BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application, surging from around $25k to hit a a high of $49k. While prices are back to lows of $43k, after rebounding from around $38.6k last week, the market is bullish as the next BTC halving approaches.

Ethereum surged after BlackRock filed for a spot ETH ETF in November, reaching highs above $2,700. The leading altcoin’s price is currently near $2,375, up 3% in the past hour as the altcoin market looks to bounce alongside the benchmark cryptocurrency.