The new deadline for at least two Ethereum spot ETF filings has been delayed to just after Christmas.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended the deadline for making a decision to approve the spot exchange-traded fund applications by Ark Invest and VanEck.
The SEC issued two separate letters on Wednesday reporting a 45-day extension to the original deadline of November 11 for both applications.
The new deadline is now December 26, 2023.
Cathie Wood’s investment firm Ark Invest submitted a proposal for its Ethereum ETF product on September 6, starting the clock on the 45-day review period for the securities regulatory.
VanEck, an investment group that initially filed for a spot ether ETF in 2021, renewed its efforts to introduce such a product on the same day.
The Commission said it needs more time to review the proposals.
Additionally, the government agency also published the proposals in the Federal Register on September 27, 2023, seeking input from the public.
Optimism around Ethereum futures products
While the approval timelines for an Ethereum spot ETF are uncertain, alongside the Bitcoin spot product, the market is growing optimistic about approval for a futures-based ETH product.
The difference between spot and futures ETFs is based on their structures and underlying pricing mechanisms.
A spot product provides investors with exposure to the asset by directly holding that asset. Whereas Futures ETFs use futures contracts to speculate on the future price of the asset.
According to Bloomberg’s ETF experts, Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, the SEC could approve an Ethereum future ETF as early as next week.
Balchunas said that according to his sources, the SEC “wants to accelerate the launch of Ether futures ETFs” and has asked “the filers to update their docs by Friday” to make an announcement by next week.
The rush is motivated by the potential U.S. government shutdown starting October 1, which will suspend government services and agencies like the SEC.
The Senate will hold another vote on its government spending bill today to decide whether a shutdown will take effect.
Currently, there are fourteen proposals pending with the SEC for an Ethereum futures ETF from firms like Bitwise, Grayscale, Valkyrie, and VanEck among others.
