SEC Extends Deadlines for ARK 21Shares, VanEck Ether ETF Applications

SEC Delays Decision on Spot Ether Exchange-Traded Funds

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed a ruling on whether to accept or reject ARK 21Shares and VanEck’s applications for a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

On September 27th, the SEC published two separate notices indicating that it would be giving itself more time to consider a proposed rule change that would allow the listing of spot ETH ETFs from VanEck and ARK 21Shares on the Cboe BZX Exchange. As the SEC had not received any public comments on either proposal, the deadlines for a decision or further delay were extended to December 25th and December 26th, respectively.

“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 SEC stated.

The same day, Nasdaq Stock Market filed a proposed rule change with the SEC for listing its mixed ETH ETF, which combines spot Ether holdings and futures contracts. Additionally, proposed rule changes were filed with the New York Stock Exchange Arca for the Grayscale Ethereum Futures Trust and Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF, as well as the Cboe BZX Exchange for the Franklin Bitcoin ETF.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications

On September 26, the SEC announced it would extend the time frame for making a decision on spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF applications from ARK 21Shares and GlobalX. This was done prior to the upcoming deadlines for both investment vehicles, with the final decision on ARK 21Shares’ ETF pushed back to January.

In August, ARK Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood proposed that if the SEC moves forward with spot ETF approvals, it could enable multiple listings at the same time in order to prevent any one company from having an advantage over the others in the market. Her comments came before Grayscale Investments won a court battle with the SEC concerning its spot Bitcoin ETF application, which is expected to be reviewed.

Up to now, the SEC has never approved a spot crypto ETF in the U.S., however it has allowed the listing of crypto-linked futures ETFs and a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF. October is the deadline for spot crypto ETF applications from companies such as BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, Bitwise, and Fidelity.