SEC delays several Ethereum ETFs, pushing final decision to May

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing back its decision on several Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to May 2024.

In several Dec. 18 regulatory filings, the agency delayed its decision on the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF and the Grayscale Ethereum Futures ETF.

The Hashdex Ether ETF aims to hold both spot Ether and futures contracts, while Grayscale’s Ethereum Futures ETF is seen as a “trojan horse” that would corner the SEC into allowing Grayscale to convert its Ethereum Trust to a spot Ethereum ETF.

In the filings, the agency said it was instituting proceedings that involve gathering further public input around whether or not the ETFs should be listed.

The agency also pushed back its decision on the VanEck spot Ethereum ETF and the spot Ethereum ETF lodged by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and 21Shares.

Update: There it is. Delay order for @ARKInvest and @21Shares on their spot #Ethereum ETF filing. Expected and was due by December 26th. Final date for these are in late May. https://t.co/Zs6Zsd4uKj pic.twitter.com/9u0nNiPD9O

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) December 18, 2023

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, these delays were “expected” and were due to arrive sometime before Dec. 25.

He added that the final date the regulator can decide on the ETFs will arrive in late May.

UPDATE: SEC Going early with delay orders for @hashdex & @Grayscale #Ethereum ETF filings. Neither were due until Jan 1, 2024.

Maybe just clearing the queue before the holidays? pic.twitter.com/LdZQxGh43L

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) December 18, 2023

Despite the SEC having approved Ethereum futures ETFs in the past, the agency has yet to approve a spot or mixed-type product.

Related: SEC pushes deadline to decide on Grayscale spot Ether ETF

Meanwhile, most of the market is focused on whether the SEC will approve 13 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs before the agency. According to Seyffart and fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the SEC could decide as early as Jan. 10.

Both analysts have pegged the chances of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval at 90%. The markets have been buoyed by the optimism that comes with institutional access to Bitcoin. In the last six months, the price of Bitcoin has grown more than 44%.

While touting slightly less significant gains, Ether’s price has grown 16.8% within the same time frame, per TradingView data.

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