SEC delays Spot Ethereum ETFs – for how long? – BitcoinBlog.de – the blog for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies

The SEC has delayed the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs. More precisely, it has sent back a specific form with requests for changes – which can also be read as a step in a negotiation.

ETF approval can sometimes be a bureaucratic hurdle. While Bitcoin ETFs stormed to the finish line in one go as soon as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled its approval, the process for Ethereum is taking a little longer.

At the end of May, the SEC completed the first step towards ETF approval: it approved the 19b-4 forms. This means that nothing stands in the way of an ETF as such, because the SEC admits that the market is mature enough for one. But what is still missing are the approvals of the S-1 forms. These are about the specific ETFs. Numerous financial institutions, including BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Grayscale, iShares and VanEck, have filled out such a form – and have now received it back with requests for changes from the SEC.

This means that the bureaucratic back and forth is entering another round. Applicants have until July 8 to send the form with the desired changes to the SEC. But even if the SEC accepts them, we have not yet reached our goal, as the documents are not yet final. This will probably not be the case until after the next round.

The market’s expectation that Ethereum ETFs will go live in July is largely off the table. It will probably be August, perhaps September. But this does not change the fact that the decision at the end of May to approve the 19b-4 forms paved the way for ETFs and they are already inevitable.

After the Ethereum ETFs, financial institutions will try other crypto ETFs, such as Solana, BNB, XRP and so on down the list of the largest coins. If the SEC is already obviously delaying more with Ethereum than with Bitcoin, this can also be interpreted as a sign: There is no fundamental right to a crypto ETF, the less solid and proven a coin is, the more the SEC will hesitate and possibly reject it. The negotiations on which crypto currencies will be approved for an ETF have therefore already begun.