SEC Unsurprisingly Delays ETH ETF Decision (Again)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again pushed back its decision on whether to approve Ethereum ETFs.

Following the success of Bitcoin ETFs in January, the market has been patiently anticipating the approval of Ethereum ETFs.

Having already delayed its decision from January to March to May, the SEC has unsurprisingly extended its decision-making time period once again.

This time, the SEC has asked for comments on all five of Cboe’s ETF applications: Wise Origin, WisdomTree, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy and ARK 21Shares.

In a filing on Monday, the SEC said its new deadline will now be 5 July 2024 to approve or disapprove the applications.

Meanwhile, the regulator is publishing documents from public consultations. Its review process will only start once all the filings are published.

"The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein," the agency said. 

The SEC's latest delay comes as no shock to the market. Back in March, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst, Eric Balchunas, said there was less than a 25% chance of ETH ETF approval in May.

At the end of last month, Hong Kong debuted its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. However, its launch was met with a weak start, drawing in just $12 million in trading volume on its first day compared to the US $4.6 billion debut.