MicroStrategy Founder Michael Saylor Takes Aim at Ethereum

MicroStrategy Chairman Michael Saylor has labeled Ethereum and other top altcoins as investment contracts.
The Bitcoin maxist discounts any hope of a spot Ethereum ETF.

MicroStrategy Founder and Chairman Michael Saylor recently criticized Ethereum, labeling it a security rather than a commodity. While speaking at the MicroStrategy-organized Bitcoin for Corporation 2024 conference, the renowned Bitcoin (BTC) advocate expressed his disapproval of a proposed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Ethereum.

Saylor Believes Spot Ethereum ETF Approval is Not Soon

In the conference, Saylor attacked Ethereum, arguing that its structure and governance resemble that of security rather than a decentralized protocol. Also, he strongly believes that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would never approve a spot Ethereum ETF in May.

His bold predictions come 20 days ahead of the SEC’s final deadline to either approve or deny the spot Ethereum ETF applications. Furthermore, Saylor forecasted that other cryptocurrencies including Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and BNB, would be classified as unregistered securities. As such, none of these cryptocurrencies would be included in a spot ETF as they won’t gain acceptance on Wall Street.

He asserted that Bitcoin is the best cryptocurrency asset as no other crypto token has achieved institutional acceptance. In his words “there is no second-best crypto asset.”

#Bitcoin – There is No Second Best pic.twitter.com/PLDgwGwF9J

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) May 2, 2024

According to earlier accounts from Crypto News Flash, Saylor’s bold prediction comes shortly after the firm launched a new Bitcoin-based decentralized identity protocol that relies on Ordinals-like inscription to store the ID data on the world’s pioneer blockchain network. Notably, the new protocol dubbed MicroStrategy Orange is designed to revolutionize enterprise identity and security.

The tech guru’s focus on Bitcoin has received criticism from some quarters, who believe it has come at the cost of its main software business. In Q1, the company recorded a net loss of $53.1 million. However, its BTC holdings appreciated by over 60% and are now worth over $15 billion. Per an earlier Crypto News Flash report, the firm plans to earlier accounts from Crypto News Flash half a billion dollars to purchase more BTC.

Analysts View on Spot Ethereum ETFs

Interestingly, the anticipation surrounding spot ETH ETFs has sparked activity in the prediction market, with bets on approval reaching at least $12 million. This mirrors the excitement and speculation surrounding the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC earlier this year.

Despite uncertainties, investment management company Grayscale remains optimistic about a favorable decision from the SEC to spot Ethereum ETFs by May. the confidence is echoed by Craig Salm, Grayscale’s chief legal officer, who believes that the SEC’s perceived lack of engagement with applicants does not necessarily indicate an impending denial.

However, in an interview with CNBC last month, Jan van Eck, the CEO of the investment firm VanEck, expressed skepticism regarding the approval of spot Ethereum ETF. The chief executive noted that his firm’s spot Ethereum ETF application will likely face rejection.

Similarly, CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti shared van Eck’s pessimism, casting doubt on the likelihood of any Ether ETF approval soon, suggesting it might not occur “this side of the year.” The skepticism regarding Ether ETF approval stems from the SEC’s lack of communication and feedback on the pending applications.