SEC postpones both decisions on Bitcoin ETF Hashdex and Grayscale

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed both Hashdex, and Grayscale's application to launch an Ethereum futures ETF.

The U.S. SEC needs more time to decide whether to approve the conversion of Hashdex's Bitcoin futures ETF into a spot ETF. This is according to a statement from the authority. Hashdex filed an application in September to convert its futures-based ETF. The deadline for a decision was Nov. 17. The SEC postponed a new decision until Jan. 1, 2024.

At the same time, the authority postponed the decision Grayscale's Ethereum futures ETF until Jan. 1 next year. According to Bloomberg's ETF analyst James Seyffart, the delay is "not at all surprising". Separately, Grayscale is also applying to convert its Ethereum trust fund into a spot ETF. The crypto sector keeps looking forward to SEC approval. If one is approved, several crypto-ETF applications are likely to follow.

Seyffart expects more delays from the SEC in the coming days. Indeed, a decision on the Bitcoin ETF applications from Global-X and Franklin Templeton are scheduled for Nov. 17 and Nov. 21, respectively. Following a court ruling in August, the SEC was forced to reconsider their strict course in approving crypto-ETFs. Experts now expect "90 percent" of all applications to be approved by Jan. 11, 2024.

However, given the earlier deadline for some applications, the crypto sector previously speculated on early approval for the of 2023. This is becoming increasingly unlikely after the recent delays.