Spot Ether ETF saga continues: SEC shakes the can down the road
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again delayed its decision on Invesco Galaxy's proposed space ether exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In a May 6 filing, the SEC announced it would need an additional 60 days to decide whether to approve the proposed ETF, setting the next deadline for July 5, 2024.
TLDR
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on Invesco Galaxy's application for a space ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) until July 5, 2024. BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex and Arch21 shares. VanEck's Ether ETF application has a May 23 deadline, which Bloomberg ETF analysts consider the most critical deadline. Optimism for the SEC to approve the Ether ETF space has waned in recent months, with analysts lowering their estimates of the likelihood of approval and expecting all applications to ultimately be rejected. Despite the consensus among ETF analysts, some Ethereum advocates believe the SEC may still approve the fund by VanEck's deadline.
This latest delay marks the third time the SEC has postponed a decision on the Invesco Galaxy spot Ether ETF. The agency first delayed a decision to December 2023 and extended it a second time to February 2024.
The proposal for the ETF was first filed with the SEC on October 20, 2023 and published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2023.
On the docket, the SEC finds it appropriate to set aside a longer period of time to issue an order approving or rejecting the proposed rule change, allowing sufficient time to consider the proposed change and the issues raised.
The agency has a total of 240 days from the date of publication to file an extension before reaching a final decision.
The SEC's delay in deciding the Invesco Galaxy SpotEther ETF is not an isolated incident.
In recent months, the agency has delayed decisions on applications from eight Ether ETF issuers, including prominent financial institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex and Arc21Shares. This series of delays is in line with analysts' expectations.
Among pending applications, VanEck's Ether ETF has the latest deadline set for May 23, 2024.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert called the deadline “the only one that matters” because it could be the starting point for the SEC's decisions on other applications.
However, optimism over spot ether ETF approvals has waned in recent months.
In March, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas lowered his SEC approval rating from 50% to 35%, citing a long period of “radio silence” from the SEC as reasons for increased political pressure on hedge funds and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Seifert, who had previously been “cautiously optimistic” about pending Ether ETF applications, reversed his stance. It expects all Ether ETF applications from March 20th to be “finally rejected” by the SEC on May 23rd.
Despite the consensus among ETF analysts, some Ethereum advocates are hopeful that the SEC may still approve the fund by VanEck's deadline.
Anthony Sassano, a well-known Ethereum advocate, in 2024 Ethereum futures ETF product acceptance of the agency and the recent meeting between the regulator, crypto asset management firm Grayscale, and crypto exchange Coinbase, referring to his conviction, the SEC can still give reasons why. Approval.
The ongoing delays in the SEC's decision-making process have left the crypto community and financial institutions anxiously awaiting the outcome of the space's Ether ETF applications.
The approval of such a product could lead to an increase in mainstream adoption and institutional investment in Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
As the July 5 deadline approaches for the Invesco Galaxy SpotEther ETF, all eyes will be on the SEC's decision on VanEck's application on May 23.
