SEC Delays Spot Bitcoin ETF Decision For All 7 Applicants, Including BlackRock

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decision until October on all seven spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applicants.

The latest agency filing Thursday pushed back its decision on the spot Bitcoin ETF filings of VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity (Wise Origin), and Invesco via the Cboe BZX Exchange. The major Wall Street regulator also delayed its decision on the applications of Valkerie Investments and BlackRock, which wished to offer spot Bitcoin ETFs via Nasdaq, and Bitwise, which applied for the same product via the NYSE Arca.

The SEC has postponed the majority of its decisions until Oct. 17, while setting the rulings for Bitwise on Oct. 16 and for Valkyrie on Oct. 19.

"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 and the issues raised therein," the agency said in the latest filing Thursday.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas predicted that the SEC might delay its decision on the pot Bitcoin ETF filings, considering that the agency just lost its court battle with Grayscale Investments.

"The SEC is due to issue initial orders on Sept. 1 on at least six spot Bitcoin ETF applications, but we expect those decisions to be delayed as the agency develops a response to its loss to Grayscale in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. There's a slim chance that the SEC could approve everything at once, including Grayscale's GBTC conversion. We see that as highly unlikely so soon after the court decision," the analysts said.

"Bitwise is due on Friday and five others on Saturday, Sept. 2, but the SEC will issue a response before the weekend. It might also respond to Valkyrie's application, which has a Sept. 4 deadline," they added.

Despite the optimism surrounding the spot Bitcoin filings, the SEC has not yet approved any spot Bitcoin ETF filings. It is worth noting that the financial regulator is not required to approve any proposals by the deadline it sets.

As of 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Bitcoin, the world's first-ever crypto asset, was trading in the red zone at $25,983.22, with a 24-hour trading volume down by 39.8% at $20.35 billion, representing a 4.75% decrease in the last 24 hours and a 0.1% gain over the past seven days.

Based on the latest data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin's total circulating supply stands at 19.47 million BTC, with its value down by 4.78% at a $505.92 billion market cap.