The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pumping the brakes on deciding whether to greenlight or nix Cboe Exchange’s bid to list options on Fidelity Investments’ spot Ethereum ETF, ticker FETH.
A February 28, 2025, regulatory filing dropped the news: the SEC’s taking more time, citing a need for “sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change.” Under federal law, they’ve got up to 60 extra days beyond the initial 180-day review window, stretching the final call out to May 2, 2025.
Cboe kicked off this journey back on August 19, 2024, filing to get Ethereum ETF options rolling. The SEC put it out for public comment on September 4 in the Federal Register, starting the clock. Originally, March 3 would’ve been the 180-day cutoff, but with no decision yet, the agency’s now got until early May to sort it out.
No telling if they’ll drag it to the wire—recent vibes show the SEC warming up to crypto, so some are betting on a thumbs-up sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, the SEC’s got another Ethereum ETF options case on deck: Nasdaq ISE’s push to list options on BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), filed in July 2024. That one’s got an April 9, 2025, deadline, per a February 7 filing.
So, by the time Cboe’s fate drops, BlackRock’s call will already be in the books. For now, Cboe’s stuck waiting—another twist in Ethereum’s slow dance with the feds.
