- The SEC has postponed its decision again on Invesco’s request to establish an ether ETF focused on the spot market.
- The government has set a new deadline of July 5, 2024, for the approval or disapproval of the proposed spot ether ETF, as indicated in a document released on Monday.
- The SEC, in a recent filing, expressed the need for an extended evaluation period to thoroughly review the proposed rule change and related issues before issuing an order.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision on Invesco’s request to establish a spot ether ETF.
Delay decisions on multiple ETFs
The government established a new deadline of July 5, 2024, to either approve or disapprove the proposed spot ether ETF, as stated in a document released on Monday.
SEC stated in the file: “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.”
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In early February, the SEC had already postponed making decisions on the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF. This delay came after the commission sought public input and deliberated on various aspects of the proposed ETF.
The SEC has delayed decisions on applications from eight prospective issuers of ether ETFs, which include BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex, and Ark 21Shares, over the past few months.
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Analyst lowers odds
A spot ether ETF provides investors with exposure to ether without the need to directly purchase or hold the cryptocurrency, as it tracks the real-time price of ether by holding the actual cryptocurrency in its reserves.
Confidence in the SEC approving such a product has waned in recent months.
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg has lowered his prediction from around 70% to 25% for the possibility of a spot ether ETF clearance by the end of May.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler stressed that the cryptocurrency was the only thing the agency was considering recently, and “shouldn’t be read to be anything other than that.”
