James Richardson
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on Nasdaq’s proposed rule change regarding the listing and trading of options for BlackRock and Bitwiseโs spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Originally set to be announced this Thursday, the decision has been pushed back to November 10, as per an SEC release on Tuesday.
The SEC stated that it requires additional time to properly assess the proposal, writing, “The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change.”
In a separate announcement, the SEC also delayed its ruling on a proposal from NYSE American to list and trade options for Bitwiseโs spot Ethereum ETFs, as well as Grayscaleโs Ethereum Trust and Ethereum Mini Trust. A decision for this is now scheduled for November 11.
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ETF Options
Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange initially filed the proposal on August 6 to make Ethereum ETFs more accessible to both retail and institutional investors in traditional markets.
The proposal stated, “The Shares have been designed to eliminate the complexities and operational challenges of direct ether investments, while still providing a value that reflects the investment exposure to ether.”
This delay comes after the SEC recently approved options trading for BlackRockโs iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a move that Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called a “huge win” for Bitcoin ETFs.
According to SoSoValue data, BlackRock’s ETHA held net assets worth approximately $977 million as of Wednesday, leading among nine Ethereum ETFs with a total net inflow of $1.10 billion. However, despite this, Ethereum ETFs have experienced over $624 million in outflows since their launch on July 23.
