The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision on a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal submitted by New York-based investment firm Franklin Templeton. 

Franklin Templeton filed its spot Ethereum ETF application back in February, joining other players of the likes of BlackRock. 

In its most recent filing, the SEC said that it finds it appropriate to delay its decision so that it will have enough time to consider Franklin Templeton's application. 

Despite the fact that the SEC greenlit a slew of spot Bitcoin ETF applications in January, the odds of the regulator approving spot Ethereum ETFs remain infinitesimally low. 

As reported by U.Today, Nate Geraci, one of the top ETF analysts, recently cited the lack of engagement from the SEC as the key reason why approval is unlikely. 

The SEC is facing political pressure not to approve ETFs for alternative cryptocurrencies. Moreover, the regulator reportedly wants to classify the largest altcoin as a security, which could complicate the approval process. 

British multinational bank Standard Chartered, which previously predicted that the Ethereum price could reach $4,000 following the approval of Ethereum ETFs, now claims that such investment products are unlikely to be greenlit this May. 

With that being said, Standard Chartered sticks to its ambitious prediction as it expects the price of Ether to hit a staggering $8,000 by the end of the year. 

The largest altcoin is currently trading at $3,235, according to CoinGecko data. It is up 1% over the last 24 hours.