Cryptocurrency prices rose on Tuesday as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decision to approve an Ethereum ETF sparked optimism, with the first applications likely to be submitted this week. According to Coin Metrics, Ethereum led the way, rising 9% to $3680.98. On Monday, the cryptocurrency surged 20% in price. At the same time,$Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$It rose 2% to around 71,350 US dollars, continuing the 8% increase that broke through the 70,000 US dollar mark the previous day.

Crypto-related stocks have also caught up with this wave.$Coinbase (COIN.US)$und$MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$After closing with an increase of more than 9% on Monday, the post-market trading continued to rise to about 2%.$Robinhood (HOOD.US)$It rose nearly 3% after the market. Several Bitcoin mining stocks are up 3%, including$Marathon Digital (MARA.US)$,$Riot Platforms (RIOT.US)$und$CleanSpark (CLSK.US)$.

Investors are reconsidering the possibility of the SEC approving the Ethereum ETF application due to reports that the SEC recently communicated with at least one exchange and potential Ethereum ETF issuers to update the 19b-4 file. These documents relate to the ETF listing, indicating that the SEC's approval process for Ethereum ETFs may be accelerating. Despite this positive development revealed by people familiar with the matter, the exact timing of the approval is still full of uncertainty. The previous consensus was that such funds might not be approved.

The final decisions of VanEck and ARK Invest applications will be announced this Thursday and Friday, respectively. BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, Grayscale, and Bitwise Asset Management also have applications awaiting approval this year.

Some fund companies are expected to face rejection because the applicant's contacts with regulators are not as frequent as when Bitcoin ETFs were listed. It was also pointed out that an Ethereum ETF may still not be able to go public quickly due to another key process that could be indefinitely delayed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. But things are also less pessimistic, as the applicant may take legal action after being rejected, which will rekindle hopes for Ethereum ETFs to enter the trading market.

Cube Exchange CEO Bartosz Lipiński said: “Soon after rumors began circulating that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might approve an Ethereum spot ETF this week, the price of Ethereum soared. Just like Bitcoin spot ETFs were approved earlier this year, but I think this is like a 'buy when you hear the rumor, sell when you hear the news' situation. I can imagine a rebound before this Thursday... and then at least a brief sell-off regardless of whether these funds are approved or not.”

Editor/Jeffrey