The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently extended the deadline for considering the listing of ARK 21Shares’ Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The latest delay comes more than a month after the securities regulator last delayed Ark 21Shares’ ETF application on August 11, 2023. 

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart took to X (formerly Twitter) earlier today to reflect on the latest developments:

According to Seyffart, the SEC’s decision to delay Ark 21Shares’ Spot Bitcoin ETF listing could cast a shadow of doubt over the approval of any BTC ETFs this year. The analyst told his followers on X that similar applications filed by the likes of BlackRock, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, etc. may also be delayed by the agency. 

As per the SEC’s filing, the agency gave itself another 60 days to make a decision on the matter. The previous delay by the securities regulator had given it until November 11 to make a decision. The latest delay pushed the deadline to January 10, 2024, with the agency utilizing the maximum time allowed to come to a decision. 

The filing by the United States SEC read:

The Commission is extending the time period for approving or disapproving the proposed rule change for an additional 60 days. The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change.

Seyffart speculated that the SEC’s decision to push the deadline could have had something to do with a letter from U.S. lawmakers urging Chairman Gary Gensler to approve Spot BTC ETF applications “immediately”. The letter was penned by four members of the House Financial Services Committee including the majority whip Tom Emmer.