The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its verdict on multiple proposals for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from various firms including BlackRock, Invesco, Bitwise, and Valkyrie, as per documents filed on September 28. This delay comes ahead of an expected government shutdown, which is slated for October 1 unless Congress passes 12 necessary funding bills.
The postponement occurred two weeks prior to the second deadline, which was initially set between October 16 and 19 for many applicants awaiting the regulator’s response. Bloomberg ETF analyst, James Seyffart, anticipates that other pending applications from Fidelity, VanEck, and WisdomTree might also experience delays due to the looming shutdown that threatens to disrupt financial regulators among other federal entities.
ANOTHER: @BlackRock joins the party on spot #Bitcoin ETF delays. Three out of seven down. https://t.co/Cn9DSibqf8 pic.twitter.com/eJTzDNInCi
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 28, 2023
This isn’t the first instance of delay, as the SEC had previously deferred decisions on a number of spot Bitcoin ETF applications in late August, nearing the first deadline. The new timelines propose a third set of deadlines around mid-January, with a final decision required by mid-March at the latest.
Experts have been speculating on the approval of Bitcoin ETFs with Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas suggesting a 75% likelihood of approval by the end of 2023, which increased from a previous estimate of 65%. This optimism stemmed from a decisive win by Grayscale in the U.S. Court of Appeals against the SEC, which Balchunas believes has positively impacted the chances of spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing the light of day. The analyst further elevated the probability to 95% by the close of 2024.
Despite the ongoing setbacks, the market remains hopeful for eventual approvals which, according to some, could bolster the legitimacy and adoption of cryptocurrency assets in mainstream finance.