[NEWS] US SEC postpones decision on BlackRock's Ethereum spot ETF

On the 4th, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) again postponed its decision on the Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF that was applied for in November last year by BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company.

The decision was made to postpone the decision by about one week earlier than the originally scheduled decision date. If approved, the ETF will be listed on the Nasdaq.

This is the second time that the SEC has postponed its decision on BlackRock's Ethereum spot ETF, iShares Ethereum Trust. The previous postponement was announced in January, and the next decision was due on March 10th.

The SEC has also postponed its decision on the approval of Fidelity's spot Ethereum ETF to January 18th.

On the 4th, the SEC requested public comments on the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF, specifically asking whether Ethereum's consensus algorithm, PoS (Proof of Stake), raises "unique concerns about vulnerability to fraud and manipulation." Comments are due within the next 21 days, and rebuttals are due within 35 days.

Predictions of approval divided

Analysts are divided on when an Ethereum spot ETF will be approved. Positive analysts say "approval is imminent, and could be granted as early as May," while cautious analysts say the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF is still uncertain.

James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, predicted at the time of the January postponement that "there will likely be further delays in the decision on whether or not an Ethereum spot ETF will be approved." "A decision on an Ethereum spot ETF will not be made until May at the earliest. We are closely watching May 23rd as the next important date," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Varian Funds CEO Jake Cherbinski stated in a post on X that, "We cannot say for sure that an Ethereum spot ETF will not be approved by May 23rd, but it is likely to be rejected due to legal issues and the policy environment."

In addition, when the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said, "Just because the SEC has approved a Bitcoin spot ETF should not be interpreted as a possibility that it will approve other ETFs."

The reality is that the SEC has not yet determined whether Ethereum qualifies as a security. Unless this issue is resolved, progress on the Ethereum spot ETF may not progress, so it is unclear whether and when it will be approved.

Reference: Announcement
Image: Shutterstock

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