The regulator was supposed to make a final decision on adding a staking function for the BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust fund on September 15, but it was postponed until October 30.
If the agency approves the addition of staking to the ETF, it will become the first exchange-traded fund of its kind in the United States. The review of the Fidelity Ethereum Fund documentation has also been extended until November 13.
In addition to adding staking to exchange-traded funds, the agency needs to respond to Franklin Templeton's application to launch funds tracking cryptocurrencies SOL and XRP. The Commission postponed the deadline for its consideration until November 14.
The SEC is currently examining more than 90 applications for the launch of cryptocurrency ETFs, but is in no hurry to make decisions. The SEC explained that it needed additional time to review the applications. The financial regulator is afraid of market manipulation, so it is careful and strives to carefully assess the risks of staking products.
The regulator is currently working on common listing standards, rules designed to simplify the process of launching cryptocurrency ETFs. If these standards are adopted, funds will be able to bypass the traditional application procedure and receive a response from the regulator after a 75-day review period.
According to the forecast of James Seyffart, an analyst of stock options at Bloomberg Intelligence, exchange-traded funds linked to cryptocurrencies LINK, XLM, AVAX, BCH, LTC and DOT may soon appear on the American market.