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

The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) on the 24th postponed its decision on BlackRock's listing application for the Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF "iShares Ethereum Trust" for 45 days. This was revealed in an SEC filing. The next scheduled decision date is March 10th.

"We have determined that it is appropriate to set a longer period for taking action on the proposed rule changes to allow sufficient time for us to consider the proposed rule changes and the issues raised therein," the SEC said in the filing.

According to a document filed by the SEC last week, Fidelity's application for the "Fidelity Ethereum Fund" has also been postponed.

BlackRock formally applied to the SEC to list the "iShares Ethereum Trust" in November last year. BlackRock registered the iShares Ethereum Trust with the Delaware Department of Corporations and filed the application with the SEC one week later. This was six months after Grayscale applied for a Bitcoin spot ETF.

In early October, Grayscale also applied to the SEC to convert its “Grayscale Ethereum Trust” into a spot ETF. HashdeX and VanEck will be the first to be judged, and the results of the review are expected to be announced in May, so attention is focused on this.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said, “The SEC will likely postpone its decision on the Ethereum spot ETF for the next few months. The key date is May 23.”

Optimistic about the realization of an Ethereum spot ETF

Many analysts are optimistic about the birth of an Ethereum spot ETF. Many asset management companies also believe that now that a Bitcoin spot ETF has been approved, it is a given that an Ethereum spot ETF, the second largest cryptocurrency in the market, will also be approved.

At a media briefing on the 24th, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated, "As I said two weeks ago, the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF is limited to this product only, and should not be interpreted as meaning that the same thing will be done for other cryptocurrencies," once again expressing his negative stance on an Ethereum spot ETF.

It has also been pointed out that in order to realize an Ethereum spot ETF, it is first necessary to clarify whether Ethereum is a security. The SEC also seems to believe that it is first necessary to determine whether Ethereum is a security.

Reference: Announcement
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