The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed rulings on several cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, including proposals from BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.
According to new filings, the SEC extended its deadlines as follows: Franklin Templeton’s Ethereum staking amendment until November 13, and its Solana and XRP ETF proposals until November 14. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s request to allow staking in its iShares Ethereum Trust has been pushed back to October 30.
The agency did not reveal any indication of approval or rejection. Instead, the filings note that the SEC requires additional time for review and has opted to use the maximum extension period before issuing final decisions.
SEC Deadlines for Franklin and BlackRock Proposals
Franklin filed its Ethereum, Solana, and XRP product proposals with Cboe BZX in mid-March, while BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum staking amendment was submitted by Nasdaq on July 16.
Under Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, the SEC has 45 days from the date of publication to review a proposed rule change, though the deadline can be extended to 90 or 180 days, and in some cases by an additional 60 days.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the SEC has taken a markedly different approach toward digital assets. On July 31, SEC Chair Paul Atkins introduced “Project Crypto,” a commission-wide effort to update securities regulations and create a unified framework for trading, lending, and staking digital assets.
Speaking at the OECD Roundtable on Global Financial Markets in Paris on Wednesday, Atkins highlighted this policy shift, declaring: “Crypto’s time has come.”
In August, the SEC granted several deadline extensions for pending crypto ETF applications. These included NYSE Arca’s filings for the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, now scheduled for a decision on October 8. The review of the 21Shares and Bitwise Solana ETFs was postponed to October 16, while the 21Shares Core XRP Trust was pushed back to October 19.
