The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to postpone the deadline for reviewing the application for the Invesco/Galaxy Digital Ethereum spot ETF. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart stated that this was completely expected, as the key date for the Ethereum spot ETF application is May 23rd, which is the final review date for the VanEck application.
Summary:
Standard Chartered Bank: Ethereum spot ETF to be approved by the SEC on May 23rd, ETH surges to $4,000.
Background:
SEC plans to “forcefully reject” Ethereum spot ETF? Insiders: Gensler still considers ETH as a security.
Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Bitcoin spot ETF trading for the first time last month, the market has been closely watching when the Ethereum spot ETF will also be approved for listing. However, on the 6th, the SEC issued another notice, deciding to postpone the review of the Ethereum spot ETF application submitted by Invesco and Galaxy Digital.
The notice stated that the SEC intends to initiate additional review procedures to evaluate whether to approve or reject the proposed rule amendments. The approval of the Ethereum spot ETF may give rise to legal and policy issues, so initiating additional review procedures is appropriate.
The SEC can extend the deadline for making a final decision on the application for up to 240 days. In the notice, the SEC seeks public input on the application, and commentators have 21 days to submit written materials, viewpoints, and arguments. The applicants will have 35 days to respond.
Progress of the Ethereum spot ETF application:
Currently, there have been 8 Ethereum spot ETF-related applications from BlackRock, Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, VanEck, Fidelity, and others. In the past few weeks, the SEC has successively postponed the decision deadlines for Ethereum spot ETF applications from Fidelity, BlackRock, Grayscale, and others.
Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart stated that the SEC’s decision to postpone the decision on the Invesco/Galaxy Ethereum spot ETF is 100% in line with expectations, and there will be more delays in the coming months. Currently, the only important date for the Ethereum spot ETF is May 23rd, as it is the final approval deadline for the VanEck application.
Extension Reading:
SEC questions Ethereum’s “PoS centralization”! Further delay in Grayscale’s transition to spot ETF.
Schedule of 8 Ethereum spot ETF-related applications. Source: Bloomberg.
Standard Chartered Bank expects approval on May 23rd
Previously, Geoffrey Kendrick, Head of Foreign Exchange at Standard Chartered Bank, released a report last month predicting that the Ethereum spot ETF would be approved for listing on May 23rd. This is because it is the final deadline for the first batch of ETF applications, and by then, the ETH price is expected to reach $4,000.
James Seyffart is also optimistic about the approval of the Ethereum spot ETF. Last month, he stated that when the SEC approved 9 Ethereum-related futures ETFs last year, it “implicitly” recognized Ethereum as a commodity, which means that the first Ethereum spot ETF is expected to be listed this year.
However, there may still be variables. Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett previously reported that the SEC may not pass the Ethereum spot ETF within this year as some experts expected. An insider revealed that the SEC’s current stance is “forceful rejection,” but there is “some internal resistance” to this idea.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler reiterated recently that the SEC views Bitcoin as a non-security commodity, which allowed the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF, and it should not be seen as support for other cryptocurrencies.
Extension Reading:
SEC delays BlackRock’s “Ethereum spot ETF” review for the second time, Gary Gensler: Approval for BTC does not mean a comprehensive green light.
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