Why Are the Approvals of Spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ether Different?
The most obvious answer to the question is that Bitcoin is not Ether or the other way around, depending how you want to put it.
The other difference is Bitcoin is POW while Ethereum is POS, which can make a big difference. On the Bitcoin network, there is a 3rd party involved that doesn't exist on Ethereum anymore - miners.
Another difference is that the max supply of Bitcoin is known, while Ether keeps getting printed... and burned (which can make it either inflationary or deflationary - currently, it is deflationary).
You can destroy bitcoins, but it's not as easy as sending them to @null, as we are used to in (D)POS consensus mechanisms. But you can lose keys to wallets, have devices where early coins were mined and stored lost or destroyed, which is effectively the same thing.
There is more development in and around Ethereum than it is for Bitcoin. Other chains forked Ethereum code or use EVMs, which make them potential candidates for future spot ETFs. Same for a few forks of Bitcoin if there is interest.
There is also the advantage of being the first to the market and having a name that is sometimes used to refer to the entire space by non-initiated.
The way approvals came for the two sets of spot crypto ETFs marks a difference too.
For spot Bitcoin ETFs, it was a long process, the SEC gave in little by little, but approvals became obvious after a certain point.
A clear distinction that one should keep in mind: all spot Bitcoin ETFs applications were cleared to operate practically immediately after they were approved on the exchanges. I remember I was surprised then that there was no time between approvals on the exchange and starting of trading.
For spot Ethereum ETFs, the indications were toward a hard no (so, denial), until the final week, when the SEC requested an emergency update of the filings. Then it became quite clear they will be approved.
The SEC was forced to approve exchange listings for spot Ethereum ETFs by the deadline. What didn't happen yet was to clear any of the spot Ethereum ETFs to operate. Something that for spot Bitcoin ETFs took something like a day, at most, if I remember well.
So the SEC is dragging its feet with these final steps. They could come tomorrow or in a month. Nobody without inside information has any idea when it will happen. They have no deadline on this.
So, to say spot Ethereum ETFs have been approved is only half-true. Theoretically, the approval process started when exchange trading was given the green light, and it is unlikely to be stopped, but it will end when the spot Ethereum ETFs will be approved to operate (to handle clients' funds).
At this point, I am curious if it only takes a few more days or a few more weeks. I wouldn't want to speculate since there are major interests at play that can influence this decision, if they want to.
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I don't want to speculate either, but I feel that the process is ongoing, nothing to be excited about for people who this it'll happen quickly. The SEC seem to be taking their time
Yep, I know people are anxious for the uptrend to start (or continue), but we'll see what the future holds on this front.
I wonder if ETH ETFs could be the biggest rug of this cycle yet. Without staking, they are pretty lame way to hold ETH. Do you think the unknown emissions on ETH are important as Bitcoin Maxi's like Saylor would say?
It's funny that Bitcoin maxi's imagine what Saylor would say. It's obvious that they would like to emphasize Bitcoin's most known feature: its preset max supply. I'm sure major financial institutions love this aspect about Bitcoin. For small players, I think they both will become interesting options as ETFs, because it'll be cheaper to invest in ETFs than to hold and transact on the main chains. Bad for crypto, but good for ETFs.
I wouldn't be surprised if the big companies like Blackrock requested this delay so they can get more supply. I think the delays also happened with BTC's approval along the way.
I don't know who put some pressure on the SEC. But obviously someone did. It could be that multiple parties applied pressure, with different interests.
Looking like it will take more weeks. There are reasons why the SEC is delayed but it is hidden
It's not really hidden. The SEC was against them, so whatever reasons they had other than the usual anti-crypto stance from the recent years, they aren't gone over night. As for when the process will end... We can only speculate at this time.
Exactly this particular difference that you mentioned about these two has increased our knowledge a lot that if we have to invest for long term, there is no better coin than Bitcoin.
Crypto is a vast place and, depending on the use case you are looking for, Bitcoin is the answer or not. It most likely won't disappear, which we can't guarantee about other projects. But otherwise, it is important to invest in the appropriate cryptocurrency for the right use case.
It sucks to see that but I think the people behind the ETFs are ready to start whenever that approval happened. It's still a step forward because the first step is done and the people involved will want to get it running.
Maybe they were taken by surprise too, so maybe they aren't ready. They might've expected a 'no' and that changed in a 'yes' within a week.