SEC Pushes Verdict on Invesco Galaxy Spot ETH ETF to July

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a delay in making a decision on the proposed Invesco Galaxy Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), pushing the next deadline to July 5, 2024.

In a filing posted on Monday, the SEC stated that it requires more time to consider the proposed rule change and the associated issues. The agency emphasized the need for a longer period to thoroughly evaluate the ETF proposal.

“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,” the SEC said.

This latest delay comes amid similar actions taken on applications from all eight prospective Ether ETF issuers, including major names like BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex, and Ark 21Shares. Analysts had largely anticipated such delays.

The final deadline for VanEck’s Ether ETF application is May 23, a date that Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has described as the “only deadline that matters” in a post on X from March 20.

However, optimism for the approval of such products has waned in recent months. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has notably reduced his estimate of the likelihood of a spot Ethereum ETF approval by late May from about 70% to 25%.Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is trading at $3,059 as of 5:45  a.m. UTC, with a 3.04% drop in the last 24 hours, according to the data from CoinMarketCap.