The United States SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has this Tuesday delayed giving its decision on a spot Ethereum ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) proposal by Invesco and Galaxy Digital.
According to the Commission, it’s instituting proceedings to determine whether the Spot Ethereum ETF’s proposed rule change to trade on Cboe BZX Exchange Rule should be approved or disapproved. Right now, Ethereum Futures ETFs are one of the few ways investors can indirectly get exposure to Ether until spot Ethereum ETFs are approved.
The Spot Ethereum ETF Rush – Current Situation and Prospects
There are currently seven different firms awaiting the SEC’s approval to begin offering Spot Ethereum ETF products. These firms include VanEck, 21Shares and ARK, Grayscale, Hashdex, Fidelity, BlackRock, Invesco and Galaxy. Since filing their form 19b-4s, the SEC has initiated a series of delays to the approval of these issuers’ spot Ethereum ETF proposals.
The latest of these delays falls on the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF – the spot ETH ETF product jointly proposed by Invesco and Galaxy Digital. By this delay, the SEC will buy itself more time to consider the proposal and follow proceedings to confirm whether it’s fit for approval.
The rule change, says the SEC, should among all its values, align with the standard that a national securities exchange should be designed to prevent fraud and manipulative acts and practices while also protecting investors and the public interest. Within this window, the Commission asks for people’s comments about the sufficiency of the Cboe BZX exchange’s statements in support of the proposal and any other comments they may like to submit concerning the rule change.
Back in January, the SEC also imposed a delay on Fidelity’s proposed Ethereum Fund as per a Jan. 18 filing, moving the decision to a new March 5th deadline. By the new date, the Commission “shall either approve, disapprove, or institute proceedings whether to disapprove the proposed rule change.” The iShares Ethereum Trust also witnessed a similar delay in late January, which has seen its decision postponed to a March 10 deadline, as per the SEC.
Amidst these cycles of delay that have rocked the prospective issuers, reputable ETF analysts are hinting at a bright approval green light around May 23rd. The reason there’s strong anticipation around this date is that it is the final deadline for VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF approval. It’s also the earliest among the final deadlines fixed for all other issuers, making it a major determinant of the SEC’s decision for all spot Ethereum ETFs on the queue.
Analysts Are Convinced May 23rd is the D-day for spot Ethereum ETF Decisions
Bloomberg’s James Seyffart, following the news of the Invesco Galaxy Spot Ethereum ETF delay, said the delay was bound to happen and is just one out of many that will follow in the coming months. According to him, “the only date that matters” as far as spot Ethereum ETFs are concerned is May 23rd.
Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas just after the spot BTC ETF approval, also said that there’s a 70 percent chance that the spot Ethereum ETFs will be approved by May. By that deadline, the SEC should be able to make a collective decision about the product and all parties involved. Balchunas believes that the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF has paved a straight path for its spot Ethereum counterpart and that it’s hard to imagine leaving out the spot Ethereum ETFs after approving the spot BTC product.
SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, a.k.a Crypto Mom in an interview, hinted at the ease with which she thinks the spot Ethereum ETFs may be approved. Pierce said the lesson from the spot Bitcoin case has stuck with the Agency and that another court case won’t be necessary for the SEC to do what it needs to do this time. With the analyses tilting towards a May approval, all eyes are locked on the SEC for the outcome of the spot Ethereum ETFs.