CBOE Pushes Forward with Franklin Templeton’s Filing

• A week after Franklin Templeton officially filed for spot Ethereum ETF, CBOE filed form 19b-4 with the US SEC to confirm the rule change for listing the spot ETF.
• With eight fund managers in the United States lining up to offer spot Ether ETF, the ETH bullish momentum has caught up with Bitcoin’s.

The race to accumulate Ethereum (ETH) by institutional investors has peaked in the past few months. As the second largest digital asset with a market cap of about $353 billion and an average daily trading volume of around $17 billion, more institutional investors are willing to add it to their portfolios. 

However, some experts have raised an alarm about possible concentration risk if spot Ether ETF is approved in the United States. The fact that a single entity could be appointed to stake and delegate the Ethers in the spot ETF raises fear of centralizing the Ethereum network, Currently, Lido is the largest single Ethereum staking entity with over 31 percent of the staked assets.

Franklin Templeton is Laser Focused on Spot Ether ETFs

On February 12, fund manager Franklin Templeton officially filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer a spot Ethereum ETF. The firm that received the green light from the same agency to offer spot Bitcoin ETF is now confident of an inevitable approval of spot Ether ETF. 

Moreover, US options exchange CBOE filed an initial form 19b-4 with the US SEC on Monday in a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the Franklin Ethereum ETF.

🚨NEW: The @CBOE has filed a 19b-4 on behalf of @FTI_US for the firm’s $ETH spot ETF. Franklin Templeton filed its S-1 application with the @SECGov last Monday.https://t.co/9oz16Ie2bb

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) February 22, 2024

The race to approve spot Ether ETF is likely to end by May according to most experts, as the US government nears to enter the campaign and election period later this year.

Ethereum Demand on the Rise

The initial frenzy on the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States is gradually waning as investors now focus on major events ahead. With eight reputable fund managers in the United States all lining up to offer spot Ethereum ETFs, it is evident the demand for Ether is on the rise. Furthermore, Ethereum price has gained about 5 percent in the past week while Bitcoin price is down around 2 percent.

The demand for Ethereum is well bolstered by the rise of its web3 ecosystem, whereby it is the primary source of liquidity. With Ethereum being a deflationary digital asset through proof-of-burn mechanism and staking, more institutional investors are diversifying to Ether.

ETH Price Analysis and Short-term Price Targets

Ethereum price has faced a notable resistance level of around $3,031 in the past five days, thus increasing the possibility of a short-term correction. However, the Ethereum bulls are in control of the weekly time frame following a solid retest of the macro bullish breakout. According to the weekly Auto Fibonacci Retracement, Ethereum’s price is now aiming at the next liquidity zone between $3,140 and $3,745 before experiencing a short-term correction.

According to the latest market data Ethereum price has rallied more than 31% in the past four weeks to trade around $2,943 on Friday.

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