The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed decisions on multiple crypto exchange traded funds (ETF) proposals Wednesday, pushing back deadlines for funds including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.
According to SEC filings, the agency has set a new deadline of Nov. 13 for Franklin’s Ethereum staking amendment, and Nov. 14 for its Solana and XRP ETFs. A proposal seeking to permit staking in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust is now slated for Oct. 30.
The filings do not indicate how the SEC is leaning on the applications; only that more time is needed to evaluate them. The commission is using the maximum extension available before issuing a final decision.
Franklin’s proposals for the Ethereum, Solana and XRP products were filed with Cboe BZX in mid-March, while Nasdaq submitted BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum staking amendment on July 16.
Under Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, the SEC has up to 45 days from publication to act on a proposed rule change, which can extend to 90 or 180 days, and in some cases by an additional 60 days.
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ETF delays continue to pile up at the SEC
The SEC has dramatically shifted its stance on digital assets since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
On July 31, SEC Chair Paul Atkins unveiled “Project Crypto,” a commission-wide initiative to modernize securities rules and bring digital asset trading, lending and staking under a unified framework.
At the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Roundtable on Global Financial Markets in Paris Wednesday, Atkins underscored the pivot, declaring, “Crypto’s time has come.”
Despite the pro-crypto push, the SEC continues to delay decisions on ETF applications, with proposals piling up across altcoin and staking products.
On Tuesday, the federal agency postponed decisions on the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF and the Grayscale Hedera ETF, extending both reviews until Nov. 12.
In August, the SEC issued a series of extensions on pending crypto ETF applications. Among them were NYSE Arca’s filings for the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, now due Oct. 8, as well as the 21Shares and Bitwise Solana ETFs, pushed to Oct. 16, and the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, delayed until Oct. 19.
On Aug. 25, regulators also extended the review period for Cboe BZX’s proposal to list the WisdomTree XRP Fund, setting a new deadline of Oct. 24. That same day, the Commission postponed its decision on the Canary PENGU ETF, moving the ruling back to Oct. 12.
According to a report on Aug. 29, the SEC had at least 92 crypto-linked ETF proposals under review.
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