When asked about his “amazing faith” in the Ethereum ecosystem, Bitwise’s Matt Hougan hinted that a “great product” may potentially make use of it.
According to Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, the cryptocurrency asset management business has hinted at the possibility of launching an exchange-traded product (ETP) that covers Ethereum’s ecosystem of layer-2 (L2) networks and applications.
“It’s a mix of embarrassment and excitement that Bitwise doesn’t have one. I really believe it would be a fantastic product,” Hougan remarked in a March 31 interview with Forbes.
According to Hougan, who expressed “amazing optimism” in the future of the Ethereum ecosystem, the question of which L2s and apps would succeed remains unanswered.
“When there are a hundred successful decentralized apps that people are using and where the economics will flow, I have a hard time thinking what the future would be like three years from now,” he added, adding that, “owning them all would be the ideal option, since they are wonderful products for what they’re worth.”
According to Hougan, the market is ten or twenty times undervaluing the Dencun upgrade. “The market hasn’t understood that it is a full game changer,” the analyst said.
While this is happening, Hougan expressed his desire that the US securities authority delay licensing of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) until December because he is worried the market won’t be ready for one by May.
TradFi is currently processing the newly authorized spot Bitcoin ETFs, so “it’s hard to convince financial advisors to consider Ethereum right now,” Hougan said.
“Maybe they won’t be [prepared] if you force it on them in May,” Hougan said. “It would be better for the market if it were December or something like that,” the speaker said with a hint of optimism.
Bitwise listed a spot Ethereum ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28 after filing its S-1 and 19-b4 forms.
Some of the other companies hoping for an SEC-approved spot in the Ether ETF are BlackRock, VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Fidelity, Grayscale Hashdex, Franklin Templeton, and Invesco Galaxy. Many observers are predicting that May will be an essential month for potential bulk approvals.
Nevertheless, due to the SEC’s apparent reluctance to interact with applicants in the last several months, the prospects of spot Ether ETF approval are continuing to decline, according to some experts.
Nevertheless, there are those who hold the opposite view. Last week, Craig Salm, chief legal officer at Grayscale, said that the spot Bitcoin ETFs “figured out” problems such as formation and redemption processes, cash and in-kind models, asset protection, loss prevention, custody, and specifics of the Ethereum ETF.
Ten spot Bitcoin ETFs exist, with Bitwise being one of them. According to BitMEX Research, citing statistics from March 28, its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) has collected over $1.6 billion in flows, ranking it fourth among similar funds. BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, and Ark 21Shares’ ARKB are the third and fourth largest, respectively.
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