The Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States has delayed its decision on the proposed spot ETFs of Grayscale for Avalanche and Cardano, which extends the assessment period until July 15, 2025.
A 28 May press release The committee said it was appropriate to designate a longer period to consider the proposed change of rule. The SEC made the designation under section 19 (B) (2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which make extensions possible outside the first 45-day assessment window.
Nasdaq submitted the AVALanche ETF proposal on 27 March 2025 and aims to list shares and trading of the Grayscale Avalanche Trust under Nasdaq Rule 5711 (D), which controls commodity-based trust shares.
The proposed change of rule was published in the Federal Register on 16 February 2025, which activates the timeline for the legal assessment. The original 45-day decision deadline was set before 31 May 2025.
Separately, the Cardano ETF proposal from Grayscale was submitted on 10 February 2025 via NYSE Arca and is planning to convert the existing Grayscale Cardano Trust into a spot ETF.
A changed version of the submission was submitted on 20 February and later published for public commentary on 28 February, with formally a 240-day assessment window initiating that ends on October 22, 2025.
With the delay now confirmed, the following key date in the approval process for both ETFs is 15 July 2025, when the committee has to approve, reject or initiate the procedures to further evaluate the proposals.
Public comments remain open during this time, with the SEC active feedback about the applications.
No Altcoin ETF has so far received approval, which further confirms the measured approach of the sec compared to crypto products than Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Under its new leadership, the committee has extended the assessment periods for various other Cryptocurrency -based ETFs, including those for Solana, XRP and Ethereum strike products.
Earlier this month, the SEC posted decisions about four Solana ETF requests from Bitwise, 21Shares, Vaneck and Canary, which states that it would “set procedures” to assess whether those proposals comply with the regular standards.
Analysts suggest that these delays are part of the standard assessment process of the SEC for innovative financial products, such as crypto ETFs.
Bloomberg ETF expert James Seyffart has earlier explained That the supervisor often needs the full 240 days to evaluate such archives, indicating that definitive decisions about many of these ETFs may not take place before October 2025.
