SEC postpones decision on Fidelity’s spot Ethereum ETF

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on Fidelity’s application to launch spot Ethereum (ETH) ETFs.

According to information on the regulator’s website dated Jan. 18, a decision on the application is now expected on March 5, 2024.

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”

SEC filing

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart called the move “expected.” At the same time, he admitted that in March, the SEC would again postpone the decision on the application until May.

The price of Ethereum reacted with a slight drop falling 2.8% to $2,459 at the time of writing. However, cryptocurrency trading volumes increased significantly – more than 14% in 24 hours, to $11.9 billion.

Last week, the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs to begin trading, prompting some in the industry to wonder whether an Ethereum spot ETF will be following.

In late 2023, Fidelity joined fellow giant BlackRock in the race for an Ethereum spot ETF. A month before these firms filed bids for spot products, ETH futures ETFs went live. The head of financial giant BlackRock, Larry Fink, said he “sees value” in a spot ETF based on the second-largest cryptocurrency. In his opinion, these are “just steps towards tokenization.”