The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it will take a longer period to review applications from all companies wishing to launch Bitcoin-pegged spot ETFs.

In particular, the American financial regulator has postponed consideration of applications from BlackRock, Wisdom Tree Funds, Invesco, Galaxy Digital and Valkyrie Funds. Until October 17, the SEC must decide whether to approve or reject them. The deadline for responding to Bitwise’s application is October 16, and Valkyrie is due to receive a response from the regulator on October 19. The exception was the company Global X – the regulator must respond to its application no later than October 7.

The department’s decision to postpone the consideration of applications followed after Grayscale Investments defeated the SEC in court. This week, a federal appeals court found the agency’s refusal to create a Bitcoin ETF illegal, so the company’s application should be reconsidered. However, Grayscale’s management is not sure whether they will again apply to the regulator regarding the conversion of the exchange-traded fund GBTC into a spot ETF for bitcoin.

According to experts, the court’s decision does not at all mean the approval of this investment product, and the regulator has 45 days to appeal the judge’s decision. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart believes that the SEC needs time to decide on applications for cryptocurrency ETFs, as the agency is now “digesting” the court order.

The SEC is in no rush to approve a Bitcoin ETF as it believes investors need protection from a crypto industry “rife with scams.” However, the court considers the actions of the regulator illogical, given that since 2021 the SEC has been approving applications to launch bitcoin futures ETFs.

And yet, some analysts remain optimistic. For example, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas is confident that bitcoin spot ETFs will appear in the US before the end of 2024.