The SEC will delay many Ethereum ETFs by pushing the final decision until 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 December 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 the Greyscale Ethereum Futures ETF acts as a “Trojan horse” that allows Greyscale to convert the Ethereum Trust into a spot Ethereum ETF.

In the documents, the agency said it was developing procedures that would include gathering more public input on whether or not the ETF should be listed.

The agency pushed back on the VanEck spot Ethereum ETF and Cathie Wood's ARK Invest and 21Shares spot Ethereum ETF.

Update: There it is. Delayed order for @ARKINvest and @21Shares on #Ethereum ETF filing. Expected and submitted by December 26. The last day of these is at the end of May. pic.twitter.com/9u0nNiPD9O

— James Seyff (@JSeyff) December 18, 2023

According to Bloomberg EFF analyst James Seifert, these delays were “expected” and will arrive sometime before December 25.

He added that the deadline for the regulator to decide on ETFs is at the end of May.

UPDATE: SEC moving early with delay for @hashdex and @Grayscale #Ethereum ETF mandates. Neither was until January 1, 2024.

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

— James Seyff (@JSeyff) December 18, 2023

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

Related: SEC Pushes Deadline for Decision on Grayscale Spot Ether ETF

Meanwhile, much of the market is focused on the SEC's approval of the 13 Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF ahead of the agency's approval. According to Seifert and Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the SEC could make a decision as early as January 10.

Both analysts gave a 90% chance of Bitcoin ETF acceptance. The markets are buoyed by the optimism that comes with institutional access to Bitcoin. In the last six months, the price of Bitcoin has increased by more than 44%.

While posting somewhat less significant gains, Ether's price rose 16.8% over the same time frame, according to TradingView data.

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