SEC will classify ETH as security and reject spot Ethereum ETFs, says Michael Saylor

Michael
Saylor
believes
that
the
US
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
will
label
Ethereum
as
a
security
this
summer
and
consequently
deny
all
spot
Ethereum
ETF
applications.
He
also
claimed
that
other
major
cryptos
like
Binance
Coin
(BNB),
Solana
(SOL),
Ripple
(XRP),
and
Cardano
(ADA)
will
likely
face
similar
security
classifications
from
the
SEC.

“Ethereum
is
deemed
to
be
a
crypto
asset
security,
not
a
commodity.
After
that,
you’re
gonna
see
that
Ethereum,
BNB,
Solana,
Ripple,
Cardano,
everything
down
the
stack
is
just
crypto-asset
securities
unregistered,”
said
Saylor
during
today’s
presentation
at
the
MicroStrategy
World
2024
conference.

“None
of
them
will
ever
be
wrapped
by
a
spot
ETF.
None
of
them
will
be
accepted
by
Wall
Street.
None
of
them
will
be
accepted
by
mainstream
institutional
investors
as
crypto
assets,”
he
added.

In
contrast,
Saylor
highlighted
Bitcoin’s
unique
position
as
the
only
crypto
asset
with
full
institutional
acceptance,
describing
it
as
the
“one
universal”
institutional-grade
crypto
asset
without
any
contenders.

MicroStrategy’s
founder
is
known
as
a
vocal
Bitcoin
proponent;
he
exclusively
focuses
on
Bitcoin
investment
and
building
Bitcoin
infrastructure.

Saylor’s
comments
come
a
day
after
MicroStrategy
unveiled
MicroStrategy
Orange,

a
Bitcoin-based
decentralized
identity
solution.
Earlier
this
week,
the
company
also
announced
its
acquisition
of
122
BTC
last
month.

Mounting
skepticism

Saylor
is
not
the
only
person
who
is
skeptical
about
the
near-term
approval
of
spot
Ethereum
ETFs.
Justin
Sun,
the
founder
of
TRON
Foundation,
previously
voiced
concerns
about
Ethereum
ETF’s
regulatory
hurdles.
He
believes
the

SEC
will
not
approve
spot
Ethereum
ETFs
this
month.

The
SEC
is
set
to
make
decisions
on
filings
by
VanEck
and
ARK
on
May
23
and
May
24,
respectively.
Recent
discussions
surrounding
the
SEC’s
approval
process
for
spot
Bitcoin
funds
have
been
notably
shallow
compared
to
prior
discussions
preceding
the
SEC’s
approval
of
spot
Bitcoin
funds,
with
SEC
staff
reportedly

not
engaging
in
detailed
conversations
about
the
proposed
Ethereum
ETFs.

This
lack
of
interaction
heightens
frustration
and
raises
the
chances
of
either
a
rejection
or
a
postponement
of
decisions.

A
definitive
classification
for
Ethereum
could
clarify
how
companies
interact
with
the
asset.
It
could
also
influence
the
SEC’s
approval
of
products
like
spot
ETFs
and
the
willingness
of
companies
to
engage
with
Ethereum.

However,
not
everyone
shares
this
doubt.
BlackRock
CEO
Larry
Fink
said
on
the
Fox
Business
show
“The
Claman
Countdown”
that
a

spot
Ethereum
ETF
could
still
be
possible
even
if
the
SEC
classifies
ETH
as
a
security.