SEC delays Grayscale's new ETF despite having previously approved it.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unexpectedly issued an order to temporarily suspend the launch of Grayscale's new ETF – a product basket consisting of five top altcoins (BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA) – just one day after its approval. This suspension order prevents the fund from launching in the market for an undetermined period.

Grayscale, a leader in promoting cryptocurrency-related ETF products – including Bitcoin ETFs – continues to expand its portfolio with many new products. However, the launch of the latest altcoin basket ETF faced unpredictable developments.

In a letter sent to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), SEC stated:

"The Commission will review the authorized action. According to Rule 431(e), the order dated July 1, 2025, will be postponed until further notice from the Commission."

This does not mean that the SEC has completely rejected Grayscale's ETF, but rather it is just delaying the official listing. Although it frustrates investors, this move does not reflect a negative change in the SEC's stance towards the cryptocurrency market.

The ETF analyst community has put forward several hypotheses to explain the SEC's puzzling actions. According to expert James Seyffart from Bloomberg, it is possible that the SEC does not want to approve any altcoin ETFs until there is a clear legal framework. The issue lies in the jurisdictional boundary between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in managing the altcoins included in Grayscale's ETF basket.

Some analyses suggest that the SEC may have "faux approved" to extend the processing time for the application. Notably, July 1, 2025, is also the deadline for the SEC to make a decision on this application. The issuance of a delay order may be a strategic move to avoid outright rejecting Grayscale's proposal.

Other experts agree that the SEC is currently developing new standards to streamline the ETF approval process, and they may want to finalize the legal framework before allowing Grayscale to launch new ETFs.

However, all of this is currently just speculation. Until the SEC provides clear guidance, the community still cannot fully understand the reasons behind this postponement decision. Hopefully, Grayscale will soon receive the final nod to bring the new ETF to market.

Thạch Sanh