SEC delays Fidelity's Ethereum spot ETF, but decisions still expected in May

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on January 18 which has delayed its decision on Fidelity's proposed ethereum spot ETF.

More specifically, the decision concerns a proposed rule change that would allow Cboe BZX to list and trade shares of Fidelity's planned fund.

The SEC noted that the proposed rule change was originally filed on November 17, 2023, and published for comment in the Federal Register on December 6, 2023.

The SEC said today that based on those dates, it was previously required to approve, reject, or initiate proceedings to determine whether to disapprove the proposed rule change by Jan. 20. However, it has now chosen to use a provision that allows it to extend that period by 45 days until March 5, 2024.

The SEC will likely decide to initiate proceedings around Fidelity in March, as it did with other pending funds.

SEC expected to decide on eth ETFs in May

James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF Analyst said today that Fidelity's delay was “completely expected” and stated that the end-May deadlines “really matter.”

That May deadline appears to be related to the fact that the SEC must approve or reject VanEck's ethereum spot ETF proposal by May 23.

Since the SEC has already initiated proceedings on VanEck's request, it cannot further delay its decision. And because the SEC typically approves similar ETFs together, it will likely decide on all pending ethereum ETFs by the end of May, although other applications have later deadlines.

It's also worth noting that Fidelity, VanEck, and several other applicants managed to get approval for spot bitcoin ETFs on January 10. The success of those bitcoin ETFs does not guarantee that ethereum ETF proposals will also gain approval.

Public expectations are divided: a prediction market in ethereum-etf-approved-by-may-31?tid=1705617475717″>Polymarket It currently reports a 54% chance in favor of ethereum ETF spot approvals.