The SEC rejects Ethereum ETF proposals for BlackRock and Fidelity

The SEC has again delayed its decision on BlackRock and Fidelity’s spot Ethereum ETF applications, with analysts predicting May as the month to watch.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its judgment on whether to accept or reject BlackRock and Fidelity’s spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The SEC indicated in separate March 4 filings that its judgement on BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund applications will be delayed.

The SEC first delayed its judgement on BlackRock and Fidelity’s Ether ETF applications in January, shortly after approving a roster of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs to go online. The SEC may postpone its decision up to three times before issuing a final determination.

The SEC’s delay comes as no surprise since market observers and ETF watchers have long speculated that the SEC will only decide whether to accept or deny the ETFs once the first final deadline arrives in May. In an earlier Feb. 7 post to X, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated that May 23 — the final deadline for VanEck’s spot ETH ETF application — is the “only date that matters” in terms of Ethereum ETFs. Meanwhile, Ether’s price has risen 56.7% in the previous month, driven by broader market excitement about impending clearance. The SEC’s postponement decision did not affect it.

However, not everyone believes that a spot Ether ETF would be as substantial as spot Bitcoin ETFs, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF now managing a whopping $10 billion in assets. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Blachunas stated that he and his colleague Seyffart would have formal odds on an ETH ETF approval coming soon, but called the funds that have yet to be approved as “small potatoes” in comparison to the Bitcoin funds.

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