The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed a decision on multiple proposals for spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including black stoneahead of the expected government shutdown.
Bitcoin ETF spot application Invesco, bitwise and Valkyrie The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also delayed its filing, according to a Sept. 28 filing, and Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart expects Fidelity, VanEck and WidsomTree’s filings to also be delayed by securities regulators.
other: @黑石 Join the party live #bitcoin ETF delays. Three-sevenths down. pic.twitter.com/eJTzDNInCi
— James Seyff (@JSeyff) September 28, 2023
Seyffart expects the delay to be due to a possible U.S. government “shutdown” on October 1.
The two chambers of Congress — the House and Senate — have yet to agree on various funding bills to fund government operations, putting the short-term future of the U.S. government at risk.
Congress needs to pass 12 separate full-year appropriations bills by October 1 to avoid a government shutdown.
The latest delay comes two weeks ahead of a second scheduled deadline for many applicants, many of whom expected to hear back from securities regulators by October 16-19.
In early September, as the first deadline approached, the SEC delayed a batch of spot Bitcoin ETF applications.
Meanwhile, a third set of deadlines for the seven companies, around mid-January, may also be extended. The SEC must make a final decision by mid-March at the latest.
related: Bitcoin ETF or not, don’t expect a “sexy” crypto bull market – Concordium founder
In late August, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas estimated that the likelihood of a spot Bitcoin ETF being approved by the end of 2023 had increased to 75% (previously 65%).
He pointed to the consistency and decisiveness of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Grayscale’s victory against the SEC as a major reason for the increased odds.
Balchunas further increases this probability to 95% by the end of 2024.
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