The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is delaying its decision on banking giant Fidelity’s spot market Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) until March.
In a new document, the regulatory agency says that it needs more time to consider approving such a product – which was originally proposed in November and would see Fidelity’s ETH-based ETF traded over the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) – so it is postponing its decision until March 5th.
“Within 45 days of the publication of notice of the filing of a proposed rule change, or within such [a] longer period up to 90 days as the Commission may designate if it finds such [a] longer period to be appropriate… the Commission shall either approve the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.
The 45th day after publication of the notice for this proposed rule change is January 20, 2024.
The Commission is extending this 45-day time period.”
In December, the SEC asked the public what they think about Fidelity’s potential upcoming Ethereum ETF.
At the time, Fidelity said that approving the ETF would be a major victory for US investors as it would provide safety beyond that of even centralized exchange platforms.
“[The] approval of a Spot ETH ETP (exchange-traded product) would represent a major win for the protection of US investors in the crypto asset space.
The Trust, like all other series of Commodity-Based Trust Shares, is designed to protect investors against the risk of losses through fraud and insolvency that arise by holding digital assets, including ETH, on centralized platforms.”
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