Spot Ether ETF Application by BlackRock Delayed

The decision on the spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) application submitted by the world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock, has been delayed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as per its latest filing. 

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change,” said the SEC’s assistant secretary, Sherry Haywood, in a January 24 filing. 

Decision on BlackRock’s Spot Ether ETF Postponed

The announcement from the SEC came just a day before the official deadline for approval on January 25. It is important to note that this is one of the multiple delays that the SEC can exercise across a 240-day period. 

Further, the first deadline comes after 45 days of the stock exchange Nasdaq filing the application for an iShares Ethereum Trust on behalf of BlackRock on December 11. 

Decision by August 7

The SEC has to take its decision on BlackRock’s spot Ether ETF decision by August 7. Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, has however noted that the regulator will decide on all of the applications in May.

Balchunas believes that the SEC will follow the same pattern of simultaneous approval as in the case of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The agency approved 10 applications on January 10. 

On the other hand, JPMorgan, a prominent financial institution, has doubted the likelihood of a spot Ethereum ETF gaining approval by May.

No Lawsuit is Needed for Spot Ether ETF Approval

SEC Commissioner Hester “Crypto Mom” Peirce said that asset management firms looking to provide spot Ether ETFs in the US will not need to sue the SEC, like in the case of a spot Bitcoin ETF where Grayscale sued the agency. 

Other Applications have been Delayed as well

As reported earlier by TheCoinRise, the spot Ether ETF application filed by Fidelity, a leading asset management firm with around $11 trillion in assets under management, was also delayed by the SEC.