SEC Delays Decisions on More Bitcoin ETFs Including That of Blackrock

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decisions on the spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) proposed by several companies. The delays of the applications of financial powerhouse Blackrock, asset manager Valkyrie and others come ahead of an expected government shutdown that would affect the SEC.

U.S. Securities Regulator Pushes Back Verdicts on Multiple Bitcoin ETF Applications

The future of a number of attempts to issue spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States remains unclear after the country’s regulatory body overseeing the securities market delayed its decisions again. The move concerns the high-profile application of investment giant Blackrock as well as those of Valkyrie, Bitwise, and Invesco, according to filings on Thursday.

The development follows the postponing of the verdict on the Ark 21shares and Global X spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this week. The first was jointly proposed by Cboe BZX Exchange, 21shares, and Ark Invest, while the second was submitted by Global X and Cboe BZX.

The latest delays come after at the end of August the SEC deferred its judgement on seven funds, including those of Wisdomtree, Vaneck, and Fidelity. The deadline for some of them is in the second half of October. Among the candidates is also Franklin Templeton which joined the race this month.

According to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, the delay orders, which come earlier than expected, are due to the looming partial U.S. government shutdown. The latter would leave the SEC with “skeletal” staff, its Chair Gary Gensler warned lawmakers on Wednesday.

The Commission and other government agencies would have to furlough federal employees if the parties in Congress fail to agree on their funding. In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Seyffart added to the list of expected delays the applications of Vaneck, Wisdomtree, and Fidelity as well.

The SEC may further delay its decisions early next year. The regulator may also try to appeal a court decision in favor of Grayscale from August which gave hope for bitcoin ETFs in America. The crypto asset manager had challenged the SEC’s decision to deny the conversion of its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot bitcoin ETF with judges describing it as “arbitrary and capricious.”

When do you expect the SEC to announce its verdict on any of the spot bitcoin ETF applications? Tell us in comments section below.