U.S SEC Postpones Decision on Ethereum ETF Approval

• The SEC has extended the deadline for its decision to May 30, 2024.
• Eric Balchunas, recently revised his prediction for spot ETH ETF approval by May to 30%.

The date by which the U.S SEC will decide whether it will approve the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum exchange-traded fund has been postponed. Hashdex ETF will hold ether spot and futures contracts if authorized. The SEC has extended the deadline for its decision to May 30, 2024, according to a notice issued on Tuesday.

In September, the Nasdaq stock exchange submitted an application to the SEC in order to launch the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF. Toroso Investments, a member of the National Futures Association and a commodity pool operator licensed with the CFTC, manages and controls the fund. The SEC has requested public feedback on the ETF in December and has postponed making a judgment on many occasions.

The SEC stated:

“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”

Likelihood of Approval by May Slashed

In a notification sent out on Tuesday, the SEC also said that it would be postponing its judgment on the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF that would follow the performance of ether—until May 24, 2024. Public feedback on that application is also being sought after by the SEC. 

Fidelity and BlackRock are among the well-known organizations that have recently filed for a spot Ethereum ETF. The likelihood of the SEC greenlighting this product has been dwindling over the last few weeks. Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, recently revised his prediction for the likelihood of a spot Ethereum ETF approval by May from about 70% to 30%.

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