Litecoin founder believes an LTC ETF will be approved

Litecoin founder Charlie Lee believes the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a Litecoin (LTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Lee shared his views during a recent interview with Bitcoin Bros, noting that its likely not if but when this happens.

In his opinion, the LTC creator sees Litecoin as more similar to Bitcoin – which has multiple spot ETFs trading in the United States following a regulatory nod from the SEC early this year.

Litecoin creator @Satoshilite optimistic about the prospect of a #Litecoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)https://t.co/ArgUzfunO8

— Litecoin (@litecoin) April 30, 2024

According to Lee, Litecoin is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is, and the designation of BTC as a commodity could also apply to LTC. 

In this case, the digital asset, whose moniker of digital silver followed that of digital gold applied to Bitcoin, falls into that classification that would allow for a spot ETF similar to Bitcoin’s.

Lees outlook on Ethereum spot ETFs approval in the US

Despite his conviction that a Litecoin ETF is likely, Lee says demand for it may not be as much as that that engulfed Bitcoin. He’s also alive to the fact that Ethereum spot ETFs command wider demand that LTC’s, but foresees a regulatory hurdle amid Ethereum’s switch from PoW to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Ethereum transitioned to a PoS mechanism with the Merge upgrade in September 2022, and latest court filings show the SEC initiated investigations into Ether being a security in March last year.

The SEC has subpoenaed Ethereum development studio Consensys, which in turn sued the SEC last week over its approach to crypto regulation.

Meanwhile, the regulator has delayed decisions on multiple Ethereum spot ETFs, and experts say the agency may reject these applications in May.

Interestingly, spot Ethereum ETFs have been approved for trading in Hong Kong and launched today, April 30. 

While the ETFs debut was less explosive as was the BTC ETFs in the US, experts say the first day showed potential for accelerated performance going forward.

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