Politics, Money, A Win For Ethereum ETFs: Ric Edelman

What role did the upcoming elections, and political money, play in the unexpected win of Ethereum ETFs last week?

Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, watched the process and shares his thoughts on how politics forced the hand of regulators, and also breaks down the next steps for Ethereum ETF.

"The whole process has been very frustrating for the crypto community, and it reflects complete dysfunction by the SEC and the White House," Edelman told etf.com Wealth Management Editor Jeff Benjamin. "The word that’s going around is that there has been political pressure on the SEC."

Edelman, whose latest book is "The Truth About Crypto," is a member of the etf.com editorial advisory board.

According to an etf.com article last week, the rapid turnaround in sentiment that led to a big win for spot Ethereum ETFs may be tied to Democrats’ worries that recent crypto support from the Trump campaign will cost them votes.

Spot Ethereum ETFs

Meanwhile, analysts say the spot ether funds may begin trading anywhere from two to 12 weeks after the SEC yesterday approved a rule change for the Nasdaq, NYSE and other exchanges that would permit the new funds to trade.

The presumed Republican presidential nominee’s campaign this week began accepting cryptocurrency donations, reversing what had been Trump’s skepticism toward digital money and Trump talked of building a “crypto army” in recent speeches. Democrats began to fear they’d lose pro-crypto voters, and opposition to Ethereum ETFs began to melt, according to interviews.

Analysts generally expect massive inflows into the spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds. Standard Chartered Bank, in a note last week to clients, predicted inflows of $15 billion to $45 billion in the first 12 months of trading, rivaling flows of spot bitcoin ETFs. 

Ethereum's rapid price gains leading up to last week's SEC decision have slowed.