As the deadline for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) decision on spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approaches, expectations are running high. Investors are keenly anticipating the outcome, which could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency market.

Lucas Kiely, chief investment officer of digital wealth platform Yield App, remarked that this week's sudden 20% rise in Ether's price caught many by surprise. He advised caution, noting that the SEC has not yet made its decision on the ETH spot ETFs. Kiely emphasized that the outcome could go either way and suggested that even if the ETFs are approved, a short-term pullback similar to what was observed with spot BTC ETFs could still occur.

Jeff Owens, co-founder of layer-1 blockchain Haven1, echoed these sentiments, pointing out the high stakes involved with the SEC's potential approval of a spot ETH ETF. He highlighted that approval would likely spark a broad rally in the altcoin sector, particularly among those built on the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Owens noted the recent impacts on ETH and various altcoins, especially layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism, as well as DeFi platforms such as Uniswap and Aave.

Some analysts are even more optimistic. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of FX research at Standard Chartered Bank, projected that approval of the spot Ether ETFs could result in flows ranging from $15 billion to $45 billion. Kendrick suggested that the impact of ETF flows on ETH could be more significant than those for BTC, given the limited alternatives for ETH positions pre-ETFs. He believes that investors will increasingly view ETH as the 'big tech' of digital assets.

Several U.S. Ether ETFs are currently under review, with the final decision for the VanEck ETF filing due on May 23, followed by the ARK Invest and 21Shares deadline on May 24. Recently, Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas raised the likelihood of approval to 75% from 25%, citing political pressure on regulators. Betting markets currently reflect a 61% chance of ETF approval.

However, the looming deadline has also brought increased volatility to major cryptocurrencies. Owens warned that a SEC rejection could lead to a significant price correction. Even with approval, there might be a short-term "sell the news" event, reflecting market dynamics observed in similar scenarios.