SEC delays decision on VanEck spot Ethereum ETF, asks for public comments

Companies • March 20, 2024, 1:18PM EDT

Published 1 minute earlier on

Quick Take

In a document filed on Wednesday, the SEC said it would take until May 23, 2024 decide on whether to approve VanEck’s spot ether ETF and asked the public for comments.
The delays come as the Ethereum Foundation said it received a voluntary and confidential inquiry from an unspecified state authority, according to reporting from The Block.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is delaying its decision timeline on another spot ether exchange-traded fund, the VanEck Ethereum ETF.

In a document filed on Wednesday, the agency said it would take until May 23, 2024 to make a decision on the ETF and asked the public for comments.

"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, as modified by Amendment No. 1, and the issues raised therein," the SEC said.

This comes a day after the SEC delayed making a decision on the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF and the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF.

Future of a spot Ethereum ETF looks iffy

Big-name firms, including Fidelity and BlackRock, have applied for a spot ether ETF over the last few months. Optimism for the SEC approving such a product has steadily fallen over the past few weeks. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas recently lowered his estimate of the chances of a spot Ethereum ETF approval by May from about 70 percent to 30 percent.

The delays come as the Ethereum Foundation said it received a voluntary and confidential inquiry from an unspecified state authority, according to reporting from The Block.

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About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.