Ether’s price performance is hindered by stagnant network use, high fees and regulatory uncertainty.
The Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) was approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 23. Despite this long-awaited decision, the price of Ether (ETH) failed to hold above $3,800 on May 24, which was surprising given that ETH was trading at $3,943 just two days earlier. The market had been uncertain about the approval odds, so the decision, particularly its timing, caught many off guard.
Some market participants quickly pointed out that the SEC has not yet approved the individual S-1 statements from each issuer, a process that could take weeks or months. This delay, among other factors, is hindering Ether’s performance, including the network’s stagnant growth, relatively high transaction fees, and regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
Some of the recent profit-taking likely resulted from the anticipation of the spot ETF’s approval, which triggered a 23% rally on May 20, an event often termed “sell the news.” Traders bought ETH expecting the official announcement, especially after the SEC reportedly urged exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq to expedite their 19b-4 filings on May 20.