Approval for spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds in May now seems "extremely unlikely," according to Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital.

Recent reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas to crypto firms regarding their relationship with the Ethereum Foundation, coupled with the SEC's lack of active engagement with ETF applicants just two months before the first deadline, have cast significant doubt on the May approval, Thorn wrote in a note on Friday.

Fortune this week reported that the SEC is "waging an energetic legal campaign" to classify ether (ETH) as a security, citing U.S. companies that have received subpoenas related to an investigation. Meanwhile, The Block reported also this week that the Ethereum Foundation received a …