The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced the postponement of the approval decision for cryptocurrency ETF applications submitted by multiple institutions, including Grayscale and BlackRock. This decision is in line with market expectations that the SEC is unlikely to approve any such applications before the fourth quarter of 2025.
The approval of Grayscale SOL and LTC spot ETFs has been postponed
The approval time for the Solana (SOL) and Litecoin (LTC) spot ETFs applied for by Grayscale has been postponed. The new deadlines are set for August 11th and October 10th respectively. Meanwhile, the SEC also postponed an application by BlackRock, which involved allowing the physical redemption of its approved Bitcoin spot ETF. As the application mainly involves technical mechanisms rather than preliminary approval, no new deadline has been set yet.
21Shares submitted an application for the DOGE spot ETF and officially entered the review processFurthermore, the SEC confirmed that it has received the Form 19b-4 application for the DOGE spot ETF submitted by 21Shares and officially initiated the review process. According to the law, the application will enter the countdown for the final decision and the result is expected to be available later this year.
The SEC maintains a cautious attitude, with over 70 crypto ETFs still under evaluation
The SEC’s decision this time continues its consistent progressive review model. At present, the institution is still evaluating over 70 cryptocurrency ETF proposals, which are at different approval stages. On April 29th, the SEC just postponed the approval decisions for another five crypto ETFs.
Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas said the delay was a routine operation. Seyffart said the delay in the decision was “expected”, and the final deadlines for most affected products were no earlier than October. Balchunas added that the SEC is unlikely to make substantive approval before the new chairperson, Paul Atkins, completes the internal strategic meeting.
SEC approval process: Phased and multiple rounds of extension
The SEC’s approval of cryptocurrency ETFs follows a multi-stage statutory process, including the publication of rule change proposals in the Federal Register. The agency usually postpones the decision multiple times within review periods of 45 days, 90 days, 180 days and 240 days until the final deadline.
This postponement is in line with the historical practice of the SEC, which is to extend the review period to the maximum extent permitted by law. At present, none of these ETF applications have reached the final deadline. Applicants and investors still need to wait to clarify the regulatory direction of the SEC on crypto asset investment tools.
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