The SEC has delayed its decision on Fidelity’s proposed Ethereum spot ETF application, shifting the deadline from January 20 to March 5, 2024.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed the deadline for making a decision on Fidelity Investment’s proposed Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
SEC Shifts Deadline to March 5
Following the postponement of the deadline, the SEC is now required to decide whether to approve or deny Fidelity’s proposed Ethereum fund on March 5, 2024, instead of the initial January 20 deadline.
It bears mentioning that Fidelity applied to launch an Ethereum spot ETF on November 17, 2023, under Section 19(b)(1) of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act.
On December 6, 2023, the proposal was published in the Federal Register for public comment. Notably, Section 19(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the SEC to issue a decision on such ETF filing within 45 days.
However, the regulator can extend the deadline by up to 90 days if needed. With that provision, the SEC has opted to extend the deadline from the initial January 20 to March 5, 2024.
This move would give the securities regulator ample time to decide whether to approve, deny, or institute proceedings regarding Fidelity’s proposed ETF fund. This comes a week after the SEC approved the listing and trading of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Delay Expected
Commenting on the development, James Seyffart, Bloomberg’s Intelligence ETF analyst, said he expected the SEC to delay its decision on Fidelity’s Ethereum ETF.
In a tweet yesterday, Seyffart emphasized that late May is the date that matters when it comes to spot Ethereum ETF.
Fidelity #ethereum ETF delayed just now. Completely expected. Dates that really matter are late May in my view. https://t.co/8mvhcPRaS7
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 18, 2024
Why Is May Important in Ethereum ETF
It bears mentioning that the SEC is required to issue its decision on VanEck’s Ethereum ETF application on May 23, 2024. In addition, May is also the month that the SEC is required to make decisions on ARK 21Shares and Hashdex’s Ethereum fund applications.
As reported earlier, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas puts the odds of the SEC approving at least one or more spot-traded Ethereum ETFs in May at 70%.
The race to launch spot Ethereum funds in the United States has been intense. Last year, top asset management companies like BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, Grayscale, ARK 21Shares, Hashdex, and Valkyrie applied to launch a spot-traded Ethereum ETF. It is now left for the SEC to issue its decision on these multiple applications.
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