SEC Pushes Back BlackRock Spot Ethereum ETF Application—Again

The Securities and Exchange Commission has, for the second time, delayed decision-making on a proposed spot Ethereum ETF from investment giant BlackRock.

The original application to create the iShares Ethereum Trust was submitted to the SEC in November, which the federal regulator delayed two months later, asserting the need for a “longer period within which to take action.” A new deadline of March 10 had been set—and has now been thrown out, according to a Monday filing.

The SEC has pushed back its decision on several other spot Ethereum ETF applications, including from Fidelity, Invesco, and Galaxy Digital. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart predicted that delays would continue until May 23, which is the drop-dead deadline for applications from VanEck and Cathie Wood’s investment firm Ark Invest. Those applications were submitted on Sept. 6, 2023—Fidelity's originating in 2021—and saw their decisions first delayed two weeks later.

Interest in spot Ethereum ETFs is intensifying as Bitcoin surgest toward a new all-time high—coming within 6% of the hotly anticipated milestone today. The Bitcoin frenzy is largely attributed to the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw $1.84 billion in inflows in just one week. The possibility of the same happening with Ethereum—which just hit its highest price in over a year—is creating pent-up demand.

The upcoming Dencun upgrade for the Ethereum network is also seen as a bullish signal.

ETFs based on Ethereum futures have been available since October.