In July, the Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the way for spot Ethereum ETFs to trade in the U.S., but banned funds from staking ETH for extra yield, despite multiple requests to do so from ETF issuers including Fidelity, 21Shares, and Franklin Templeton.
Now, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the world,” is reportedly mulling bringing in crypto-friendly leaders to lead financial regulators when he begins his term on Jan. 20, 2025.
That could open the door to staking being approved sooner than previously thought, Bernstein said.
Ethereum’s Risk and Reward Profile
Analysts have also said they see ETH as an attractive investment opportunity, citing growing investor interest after a period of underperformance relative to Bitcoin.
Ethereum investment funds saw record net inflows of $2.2 billion in 2024, finally surpassing the cryptocurrency’s record net inflows of roughly $2 billion in 2021 and reflecting a “sharp reversal in sentiment” towards ETH, according to CoinShares.