The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on Invesco Galaxy’s application for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In a May 6 filing, the SEC gave itself another 60 days to decide on the Invesco Galaxy spot Ether (ETH) ETF, with the next deadline set to July 5.
“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 SEC wrote.
In recent months, the SEC has delayed decisions on applications from all eight prospective Ether ETF issuers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex and Ark 21Shares, in line with analyst expectations.
May 23 is the final deadline for VanEck’s Ether ETF application and the “only deadline that matters,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart in a March 20 X post.
In March, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas downgraded his odds of the SEC approving the ETFs from 50% to 35%, as he was less convinced the regulator would approve VanEck’s bid by the deadline.
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Speaking to Cointelegraph on March 12, Balchunas looked to a prolonged period of “radio silence” from the SEC to prospective fund issuers, combined with increasing political pushback for SEC Chair Gary Gensler, as reasons for the decreasing likelihood of approval.
Seyffart said his “cautiously optimistic” attitude toward the pending Ether ETF applications had changed. As of March 20, he expects that all applications for an Ether ETF will “ultimately be denied” by the SEC on May 23.
Despite this consensus from ETF analysts, Ethereum advocate Anthony Sassano said he maintains conviction that the regulator could approve the funds by VanEck’s final deadline.
Sassano looked to the agency’s approval of Ether futures ETF products in 2023, citing a March 9 meeting between the regulator, crypto asset management firm Grayscale and crypto exchange Coinbase as further reasons why the SEC could still approve the applications.
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