The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again extended the deadline for reviewing BlackRock and Fidelity’s applications to introduce Ethereum (ETH) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The SEC’s website recently disclosed information about the application, indicating a further postponement of the decision and inviting feedback from market participants.
This marks the second delay in considering the applications, with the initial postponement occurring in January 2024. The SEC reserves the right to alter the decision deadline up to three times.
Bloomberg analyst James Seyffarth speculates that the Ethereum ETF could potentially debut on May 23, 2024, coinciding with the deadline for the SEC’s decision on VanEck’s application to launch a spot Ethereum ETF.
In February, Franklin Templeton, a prominent American investment fund managing $1.5 trillion in assets, joined the lineup of entities seeking approval for an Ethereum ETF. The fund intends to rely on Coinbase exchange as the custodian for ETH storage, with units of the Franklin Ethereum ETF set to trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
Despite the SEC’s decision delay, Ethereum’s price remains largely unaffected. The cryptocurrency has surged more than 7% in the past 24 hours, currently trading above $3,700, as per CoinMarketCap data. This rise coincides with Bitcoin’s recent rally on March 4, nearing its all-time high at $68,770.