The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, and 13 other institutional giants got the nod from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States on Jan. 10.

BlackRock’s entry in the spot Bitcoin ETF race gave crypto proponents a new sense of optimism because the firm is the world’s largest asset manager, with over $8 trillion in assets under management and an impeccable ETF approval record.

BlackRock had a record of 575 approvals to one ETF rejection in its history, and with spot BTC approval, the record is now 576-1. This was one of the key reasons that made analysts and market pundits sure about a potential approval even before the SEC decided.

BlackRock submitting their ETF application pic.twitter.com/rJNPCXwr0v

— rwlk (@sherlock_hodles) January 10, 2024

Following the approval of spot BTC ETFs, the crypto community has already started speculating about the potential approval of an Ether ( ETH ) ETF approval in May.

Related: SEC solicits comments on Fidelity’s spot Ether ETF application

BlackRock filed for a spot Ether ETF in November 2023 . The SEC deadline for a decision to approve or deny the application is May 23, and many crypto proponents believe a spot Ether ETF could be approved.

BlackRock doesn't lose. Looking like August for $ETH ETF. https://t.co/rlJmE3RIRZ pic.twitter.com/G2sbA0Mysl

— fewture (@fewture) January 11, 2024

Bloomberg senior analyst Eric Balchunas, who gave a 95% chance that the spot BTC ETF applications would be approved in the lead-up to the SEC’s decision on Jan. 10, believes there is a 70% chance of an Ether ETF approval in May .

New deadline to obsess over just dropped

May 23rd is the final deadline for decision on VanEck’s spot ETH ETF pic.twitter.com/dgi5EVbPeQ

— Will (@WClementeIII) January 10, 2024

The price of Ether shot up 10% on BTC ETF approval day. However, BTC traded in the same range throughout the day and dipped below $46,000 momentarily before recovering.

Magazine: BlackRock meets with SEC over ETF, Binance’s new era begins and SBF loses release bid: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 19–25