The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States has decided to continue deciding whether to approve or disapprove ARK 21Shares’ and VanEck’s applications to launch spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Due to the lack of public comments on these plans, the SEC announced that it would postpone making a decision until December 25 and December 26 for VanEck and ARK 21Shares, respectively.
“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein,” stated the SEC.
Notably, this delay coincided with Nasdaq’s filing of a proposed rule change with the SEC, seeking to list a mixed ETH ETF combining spot Ether holdings and futures contracts. Simultaneously, proposals for spot crypto ETFs were filed with the New York Stock Exchange Arca for the Grayscale Ethereum Futures Trust, Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF, and the Cboe BZX Exchange for the Franklin Bitcoin ETF on September 27.
This follows the SEC’s previous announcement of an extended evaluation period for spot Bitcoin ETF applications from ARK 21Shares and GlobalX, effectively pushing the final decision on ARK 21Shares’ ETF to January.
Looking ahead, market watchers are intrigued by the potential for multiple spot ETF listings, speculated by ARK Investment Management’s CEO Cathie Wood. She suggested that the SEC could approve several ETFs simultaneously to maintain market fairness. This speculation comes in the wake of Grayscale Investments winning a legal battle with the SEC regarding its spot Bitcoin ETF application, which is now slated for review.
It’s worth noting that, thus far, the SEC has not granted approval for any spot crypto ETF in the U.S., although it has permitted the listing of crypto-linked futures ETFs and a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF. With deadlines for spot crypto ETF applications from firms including BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, Bitwise, and Fidelity scheduled for October, the crypto ETF landscape continues to evolve.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States also postponed making a decision on applications for Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Applications from GlobalX and the Ark 21Shares ETF were particularly impacted in this decision. Initial deadlines for the SEC’s response to GlobalX’s application were October 7 and November 11 for Ark’s application.
The SEC had previously set January 10, 2024 as the application’s last day. This postponement comes after a string of others, including a few in early September and one in August.
Tom Emmer and Ritchie Torres were among a group of Congressmen who advocated for cryptocurrencies and urged Gary Gensler, the chair of the SEC, to avoid bias against Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale also won a court case in which it accused the SEC of treating futures ETFs favorably but rejecting spot Bitcoin ETFs, and claiming that this treatment was unfair.
