SEC Delays Decision On Fidelity’s Spot Ethereum ETF To March

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According to a regulatory filing, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on Fidelity’s Spot Ethereum ETF proposal until the 5th of March. 

The decision comes as five other leveraged Bitcoin ETFs were filed with the SEC for approval. 

SEC Delays Decision On Fidelity ETF 

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced its decision on the 18th of January, stating that it was delaying its decision so it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and potential issues raised. The commission stated in its filing, 

“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.”

The commission set the 5th of March as the next date for a decision on the spot Ethereum ETF. Fidelity had applied for the Fidelity Ethereum Fund in November last year. It noted in its proposal a court ruling where judges had said the Securities and Exchange Commission had failed to find a coherent reason why it should reject a spot crypto ETF when it had already allowed futures-based products. Following the delay, the SEC will get more time to decide whether it should approve or disapprove of the application. 

Decision On Expected Lines 

Bloomberg ETF Analyst James Seyffart stated that the SEC’s decision was expected. Taking to X, the analyst stated, 

“Fidelity #ethereum ETF delayed just now. Completely expected. Dates that really matter are late May, in my view.”

The post referred to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s final deadline of the 23rd of May to approve or deny VanEck’s Ether ETF. Some analysts have predicted that the SEC could approve several pending Spot Ether ETFs simultaneously, in the same manner as it did with the spot Bitcoin ETFs. Last week, in a landmark decision hailed by the market, the SEC authorized 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs to begin trading. Many believe a spot Ethereum ETF approval is just a matter of time. Co-founder at Volatility Shares, Stuart Barton, explained, 

“The fact that they allowed listing of the futures-based ETFs is enough to say they are thinking about ether the same way they are thinking about bitcoin, and you can infer from that they’re probably thinking it’s not a security and not going to regulate it that way.”

New Bitcoin ETF Filings 

While Fidelity has to wait on a decision from the SEC, Direxion filed for five Bitcoin ETFs, joining ProShares, which had filed for five leveraged Bitcoin-tracking ETFs on the 16th of January, and REX Shares, who had filed for six leveraged Bitcoin ETFs on the 3rd of January. Direxion’s filing shows its plans for 1x, 1.5x, and 2x long leveraged Bitcoin funds, and one of each for short leveraged funds.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.