Ethereum price jumps 3% even as SEC delays Grayscale application to turn ETH Trust into an ETF

Ethereum price noted gains over the past day akin to the rest of the market to recover some of the losses noted the day before. However, ETH might face some challenges in doing so, the biggest of which comes from the SEC.

Ethereum - not in favor of the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided its ruling regarding the long-standing Hashdex spot Bitcoin ETF application as well as Grayscale’s application to turn its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into an ETF. While the former decision was expected, the latter was not really surprising either since this decision would set a precedent for future such applications.

As noted by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, 

“Grayscale is playing Chess, not checkers here. They're likely hoping to force the SEC into issuing a 19b-4 decision on an ETH futures ETF…All current Eth futures ETFs were not approved under this process and we have no SEC decision process to fall back on if the SEC denies spot ETH ETFs in 2024. A 19b-4 futures ETF approval letter would set things up for another battle in court that would likely be a virtual replay to $GBTC's case.

This opinion was also shared by analyst and finance lawyer Scott Johnson, who reiterated that Grayscale is using this as a vessel to make spot ETH ETF happen. While more information on SEC’s decision regarding the delay comes to light, Ethereum price already seems to be holding well.

Ethereum price hasn’t recovered for a while

Ethereum price at the time of writing can be seen trading at $2,041, rising by more than 3% in the past couple of hours. The leader of the altcoins fell by nearly 6.7% in the last four days, bringing the cryptocurrency below the $2,000 mark. However, your stubbornness has resulted in ETH noting a recovery.

Nevertheless, this recovery may not stick for too long since the broader market cues are still bearish for ETH. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is observing waning bullishness evinced by the receding green bars. While a bearish overturn has not been confirmed, the indicator is close to noting a bearish crossover.

ETH/USD 1-day chart

This would most likely invalidate the $2,000 support and result in a decline in Ethereum price towards $1,900 or lower. The only way this bearish outlook is invalidated is if ETH manages to climb back above the ledge at $2,124 to secure the investor's gains and lock them in, causing a surge in price.