On November 8, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) once again delayed its decision on the approval of ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This comes just 3 days after Donald Trump was elected the next president of the country.
In a published document, the SEC notes the need for additional time to review the proposal and assess the risks and implications for the market. The first rescheduling occurred in September of this year.
In total, there are four ETFs on hold: Bitwise's ETHW; Grayscale's ETHE and Ethereum Mini Trust; and BlackRock's ETHA.
The key date will now be December; however, since August, when the applications for approval were submitted, Bloomberg ETF specialist James Seyffart had already pointed out that the wait could extend until April 2025, given that the Commission has a period of up to 240 days to decide.
It is worth noting that Bitcoin ETF options were already approved in September, and the decision on ETH ETFs is expected to be made in December. Will the SEC be loosening its policies with Trump's arrival? Commissioner Mark Uyeda believes that the Commission's war on cryptocurrencies must end . Uyeda is one of Trump's candidates to be elected as the new SEC chairman.
Mark Uyeda could be the next SEC chairman. Source: Fox Business.
If ETH ETF options are approved in December, it could signal a final openness by the SEC towards cryptocurrencies. Still, many questions remain, such as the case of Ripple, cryptocurrencies classified as securities, ongoing legal actions, among others.
Gary Gensler's presidency may be on its last legs
Since now-candidate Donald Trump's intervention at the Bitcoin 2024 conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, where he promised to fire Gary Gensler on his first day as president, it seems that the current SEC leader's days are numbered. However, it should be noted that Trump does not have the direct authority to remove him.
In past administration changes, such as Joe Biden in 2021 or Trump himself in 2016, outgoing SEC chairmen resigned before taking office on January 20 of the corresponding year. It is therefore expected that Gensler may follow this same path.
Will Gensler resign then? His term as current SEC chairman ends on January 5, 2026, and he has not made any statements on the matter. However, a parallel situation has arisen with Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve (FED), who has already indicated that he would not resign even if Trump asked him to.
