BlackRock spot ether ETF decision delayed by SEC

The delay was largely expected after the SEC also delayed Fidelity’s proposal

by Katherine Ross /

January 24, 2024 03:25 pm

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink | Jolanda Flubacher/"Global Economic Outlook 2014: Laurence Fink" (CC license)

The Securities and Exchange Commission delayed a decision on BlackRock’s proposed spot ether ETF.

The delay pushes any decision on the proposed fund to March 10, according to an official release by the agency.

The delay was largely expected, with the SEC also delaying decisions on Fidelity’s proposed fund on Jan. 18.

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“Spot Ethereum ETF Delays will continue to happen sporadically over the next few months. Next date that matters is May 23rd,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart said.

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The decision comes just weeks after the SEC approved nearly a dozen spot bitcoin ETFs. Three commissioners — Hester Peirce, Mark Uyeda and Chair Gary Gensler — voted in favor of the ETFs.

Following Grayscale’s legal victory in August, the SEC was compelled to reevaluate its application for a spot bitcoin ETF conversion. Despite this progress, the status of ether ETFs continues to be unclear.

In an interview on Tuesday, Peirce said that the SEC would “apply precedent” to any decisions on spot ether ETFs. She further noted that the agency doesn’t plan to repeat history and face another court case in order to approve such funds.

“I’m not holding my breath,” Lara Crigger, editor-in-chief at VettaFi previously told Blockworks about ether ETF approval.

However, Seyffart previously said that he was more bullish about the future of ether ETFs.

“If [Gensler] goes after ETH, it’s not just going to be a lot of these industry players; it will also be the CFTC that he has to contend with, and it’s just not worth it,” he told On the Margin podcast.The delay was largely expected after the SEC also delayed Fidelity’s proposal

In his press release following bitcoin ETF approvals, Gensler noted that the decision “should in no way signal the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities.”

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