Arthur Cheong, CEO of DeFiance Capital, predicts that the price of Ethereum (ETH) will reach $4,500 before the first spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) start trading. This bold prediction comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the 19b-4 filings for eight spot ETH ETFs on May 23. These approvals allow the ETFs to be listed and traded on their respective exchanges. The filings were submitted by VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK-21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise.
Cheong shared his forecast with his 167,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “4.5k before spot ETF goes live for trading [in my opinion].” While the approval of the 19b-4 filings is significant, ETF issuers still need approval for their S-1 filings, which could take weeks to months to complete, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.
The unexpected approval of Ether ETFs by the SEC has had a major impact on the cryptocurrency market. Analysts had low expectations for approval, but the sudden turnaround caused Ether to surge by 20%. The announcement by former President Donald Trump that he would accept campaign donations in cryptocurrency also added to the excitement.
From a technical analysis perspective, the ETH/USDt daily chart shows that the price has been fluctuating between $3,860 and $3,980 recently. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at around 63.52, indicating strong buying pressure without entering the overbought territory. The 50-period moving average (blue line) is above the 200-period moving average (red line), suggesting a bullish sentiment in the short term.
Given the upward trend and sustained buying interest, Ethereum could potentially test higher resistance levels. The immediate resistance is at $3,980, and a breakthrough could lead to Ethereum approaching the psychological level of $4,000, opening the way to $4,500.
The SEC’s approval of ETFs came just one day after the House passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT 21), which aims to clarify the jurisdiction of the SEC versus the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Many in the industry view FIT 21 as a significant victory.