Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds could still be approved by their initial deadline of May 23, according to Standard Chartered Bank, despite skepticism expressed by other commentators.

"My view is still that they will be approved on May 23. Although I note this is now a non-consensus view," Geoffrey Kendrick, head of forex and crypto research at Standard Chartered Bank, told The Block in a statement. "If the ETFs are approved, I estimate $15-45 billion of inflows will come in the first 12 months, using the same logic as I applied to the BTC ETF inflows."

Earlier this year, Kendrick predicted that spot Ethereum ETFs would likely be approved on May 23 primarily because the Securities and Exchange Commission has not classified ETH as a security in its legal actions against crypto …