SEC delays at least 3 bitcoin ETF decisions

The SEC delayed its decision on proposals by Valkyrie, Invesco, and WisdomTree until at least October

article-image

K.unshu/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday said it needs more time to decide the fate of the spot bitcoin ETFs proposed by WisdomTree, Valkyrie and Invesco — bumping back a decision on the products to at least mid-October. 

The regulator, which has never allowed such a product to come to market, said in filings that it would delay its ruling on the proposals by at least another 45 days.  

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein,” documents said in response to the three proposals.

For the SEC, it’s a customary filing within 45 days of publishing a proposal in the federal register. The regulator did not offer a specific reason for the delay.

It represents the first of several deadlines the SEC has within a 240-day period to address Invesco, WisdomTree and Valkyrie’s plans.

The SEC was expected to respond to filings from a range of bitcoin spot ETF hopefuls ahead of Labor Day weekend. It is slated to address similar proposals by BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, and VanEck by the end of this week. 

Loading Tweet..

The SEC saying it needs more time to rule on WisdomTree, Valkyrie and Invesco’s proposals was not unexpected — particularly after the regulator delayed its ruling on a similar planned fund by Ark Invest and 21Shares last month. 

The regulator said at the time it would “institute proceedings” to determine whether to permit the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF to begin trading and requested public comments. 

Some industry watchers hopeful of spot bitcoin ETF approval have said they expect such an outcome to come closer to the end of the year, or in 2024. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts raised their odds of spot bitcoin ETF approval by the end of 2023 from 65% to 75% after Grayscale Investments won its case against the SEC Tuesday in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

In 2011, WikiLeaks faced a financial blockade imposed by the US government. It was Bitcoin’s first major test.

article-image

Kado’s founder Emery Andrew spoke to Blockworks about the acquisition and what’s next for the team

article-image

LayerZero’s Bryan Pellegrino chatted with Blockworks about the firm’s next steps and its 10-year runway

article-image

Colosseum co-founder Matty Taylor is seeing “high-performance [Solana] founders showing a lot of interest in private trading technology”

article-image

Executives weigh the growth potential they see in the public stock and private credit/equities arenas

article-image

Players can stake ME, trade tokens and link wallets to climb the leaderboard