The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision to approve the Franklin Templeton Crypto Index ETF until early 2025.
In a Nov. 20 letter, the regulatory agency explained that it received no comments after publishing the proposed rule change to list the crypto index ETF on the Federal Register on Oct. 8, 2024. SEC officials wrote:
"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.”
The SEC continued, “Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, designates January 6, 2025, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change.”
The SEC letter asking for more deliberation time. Source: SEC
Related: US regulators mull approving Grayscale crypto index ETF
Industry waits for long-anticipated crypto index ETFs
In August, Franklin Templeton applied for a crypto index ETF with the SEC. At the time, head of research at the Sygnum crypto bank Katalin Tischhauser told Cointelegraph that crypto index ETFs were “The next logical step” for the digital asset markets.
Tischhauser explained that indexes allow investors to participate in the upside of the markets without having to pick individual winners and make extensive, time-consuming, and often costly mistakes. This efficiency is what has driven the meteoric popularity of stock indexes such as the S&P 500, the researcher asserted.
As such, Franklin Templeton is far from the only firm looking to launch a crypto index ETF in the United States. In October, the New York Stock Exchange expressed interest in listing Grayscale's crypto index ETF and sought permission from US regulators to list the financial vehicle for trading.
More recently, in November, US regulators indicated they were considering listing the Grayscale ETF.
The approval of the Grayscale crypto index ETF would mark the first of its kind in the United States and would unlock new capital flows into the digital asset markets — similar to the inflows from the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs approved earlier in 2024.
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