The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETF) proposed by asset management firms Invesco (IVZ) and Galaxy Digital.
The proposed ETFs would allow investors to track the spot price of Ethereum without having to actually own the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Analysts were quick to say that the SEC’s delay was expected and that the Wall Street regulator is likely to put off its decision on Ethereum ETFs several more times between now and late spring.
Wall Street is looking to May 23 for the SEC to finally decide on whether to approve spot Ethereum ETFs. That date is the deadline for investment firm VanEck’s Ethereum ETF application.
Earlier this year, the SEC delayed its decision on an application by Grayscale Investments to convert its existing Ethereum Trust product (ETHE) into an ETF.
The regulator also previously delayed a decision on BlackRock’s (BLK) application for a spot Ethereum ETF.
Analysts say the SEC is trying to give markets some breathing room after it approved on Jan. 10 this year nearly a dozen spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.
Those same analysts expect that the price of Ethereum will rise between now and the May 23 date when the SEC is widely expected to approve VanEck’s ETF application.
The price of Ethereum is flat on the year but has gained 42% over the last 12 months to trade at $2,370 U.S. per digital token.
