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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced an extension of the deadline to decide on the proposed rule change allowing NYSE Arca to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. In a notice issued on December 5, the SEC stated its intention to designate a longer period for consideration of the proposal.
The proposed rule change is aimed at facilitating the listing and trading of shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust on NYSE Arca. The SEC’s decision on this matter is highly anticipated, especially in light of a recent appellate court order requiring the SEC to review Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF offering in October.
The SEC justified the extension, stating, “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.” The new deadline for the SEC to either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine disapproval, is set for January 25, 2024.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that the SEC has not yet approved a spot Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund for listing on a U.S. exchange. While the SEC has given the green light to investment vehicles tied to crypto futures, the decision on spot ETFs remains pending.
Grayscale, a major player in the cryptocurrency investment space, initially filed with the SEC to convert shares of its Grayscale Ethereum Trust into a spot Ether ETF back in October. This places Grayscale among various companies awaiting regulatory decisions, including BlackRock, Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, and Fidelity, all of whom have submitted applications for spot crypto ETFs.
Analysts speculate that the SEC’s decision on a spot Bitcoin ETF could potentially lead to simultaneous approvals for similar funds from multiple firms, marking a significant development in the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds.
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