Ethereum Loyalists Say ETF News Isn’t Priced in but Bitcoin Maxis Push Back

Ethereum holders were on the edge of their seats, waiting for a price surge after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Ethereum spot ETF filing Form 19b-4.

But the huge gains they had hoped for didn't come through, leading to a clash of perspectives between Ethereum loyalists and Bitcoin ‘maxis’.

For Ethereum enthusiasts, like Dhee.ETH, the price of Ethereum is not fully reflective of its true value.

"It takes time to reflect on the price. Even for Bitcoin, the ETF was approved in January, but the all-time high happened in March," Dhee.ETH, an Ethereum educator, told The Defiant. “Market reacts by buying on rumors and selling on news.”

Only Crypto Commodity

Some Bitcoin maxis don’t agree.

Bitcoin maximalists are a subgroup of the broader Bitcoin ecosystem that believes Bitcoin is the one and only true crypto asset. They adhere to a Bitcoin-only future, labeling any other token that isn’t BTC a scam.

The laser-eyes, as they are dubbed since they sport laser eyes on most of their Twitter profile pictures, thought that Bitcoin would be the only commodity considered as such by U.S. regulators.

But when securities regulators approved the Ethereum ETF, legal experts saw that as an indication regulators also classify ETH as a commodity.

On May 23, the SEC gave the green light for eight spot Ether ETF applications to be listed on exchanges. Interestingly, Ether fell by 3% just before the news broke. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,963.

Maxis are now flipping their narrative, adjusting for current events.

“Bitcoin will still win regardless against lesser assets like Ethereum because Bitcoin has compelling utility and a focused narrative as hard freedom money & store of monetary value,” said Terrence Yang, Managing Director at Swan Bitcoin. “Ethereum’s potential is tiny compared to Bitcoin just like other MLM plays like Herbalife–a known ponzi scheme–is tiny compared to AI or the internet.”

Yang isn’t alone in his view either.

Bitcoin educator Kashif Raza, founder of Bitinning, told The Defiant that institutions might find Ethereum less attractive compared to Bitcoin due to its unlimited supply. He estimated that Ethereum might only attract 15 to 20% of the investment that Bitcoin receives, both in the short and long term.

"It's akin to asking an institution whether they would prefer to invest in a gold ETF or a silver ETF," Raza said. "Bitcoin’s store of value will likely attract more investment."

Winning By Regulation

Bitcoiners have been saying that “their” asset will win thanks to the regulatory front for years.

On May 2, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy and a well-known Bitcoin bull, took a harsh stance regarding a potential ETH ETF at the MicroStrategy World 2024 conference. He predicted that the SEC will classify Ethereum as a security “and not a commodity,” a view that has been long peddled by bitcoiners.

He added that the SEC will reject related spot ETF applications, including those from asset managers like BlackRock.

Demise of Anti-Crypto Army is Good For All

One bitcoiner that takes a nuanced, yet favorable to Bitcoin, view is Dennis Porter.

The CEO and Co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, a non-profit that advocates for good policy regarding Bitcoin mining, told The Defiant that even though he considers that Bitcoin has a “better value proposition” than Ethereum, the approval is good for the industry.

“Not only is the broader space scoring points,” he said, but “we see Gary Gensler's SEC losing battle-after-battle and Liz Warren's anti-crypto army crumbling.”

Saylor walked back his earlier statements and echoed Porter’s view when he appeared on the May 25 episode of the "What Bitcoin Did" podcast with Peter McCormack.

“I think it may be better for Bitcoin because I think that we are politically much more powerful supported by the entire crypto industry,” Saylor said.

The political battle, with Ethereum’s installation in Wall Street, is sending positive vibes throughout the industry.

ETH ‘Wildly Undervalued’

Ethereum has been slow to catch up to its all-time high, a feat that Bitcoin–and many other tokens–have already achieved.

But with the new ETF approval, investors are betting the network’s multiple use-cases will take it there and beyond.

Ethereum loyalist Ishita Pandey, known as Ishita.ETH on X claims that Ethereum is “wildly undervalued,” but also believes that Ethereum offers advantages that make it a fundamentally stronger investment than Bitcoin.

“Ethereum is not just a crypto but a versatile platform for decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts, and various decentralized finance (DeFi) projects,” she told The Defiant. “This utility provides a broader range of use cases compared to Bitcoin, which primarily serves as a store of value.”

Pandey alludes to what Bitcoin maximalists tend to ignore, which is the network’s one and only use-case: money. Even with the arrival of Bitcoin Ordinals, which has seen a flurry of activity, and a popping of the “pet rock” narrative, the network is still eons away from what Ethereum offers.

Dhee.ETH emphasized that the true impact on price will only be seen after these ETFs are fully launched and listed on the markets.

Will Ethereum bulls eat Bitcoin maxis’ lunch or will the laser eyes have the last laugh? Only time will tell, but it seems the market has spoken and wants both assets.