Additional information points to the SEC possibly delaying the approval of spot Ether ETFs, which would begin trading in Hong Kong on April 30.

Most likely, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will reject the $3,163 spot Ether transaction exchange-traded funds (ETF) throughout the month of May, as per a recent report.

Following talks with the regulator in recent weeks, Reuters reported on April 24 that U.S. issuers and other firms expect the SEC to reject spot Ether ETF applications next month. Four persons who were involved in the meetings were cited in the report.

Due to the confidential nature of the discussions, the four individuals, who wished to remain anonymous, said that recent meetings between issuers and the SEC had been biassed and that agency personnel had not gone over important issues regarding the proposed products.

The sources compared the unsuccessful talks regarding Ether ETFs to detailed discussions between issuers and the agency in January, weeks before it approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Before the historic approval, the SEC rejected spot BTC ETF filings for over a decade. It only changed its stance after Grayscale Investments won a court victory against the securities regulator in August 2023.

Many analysts agree that the SEC is likely to further delay possible approval of Ether ETFs.

“It seems more likely that approval will be delayed until later in 2024, or longer,” VettaFi ETF data analyst Todd Rosenbluth reportedly said, adding that the regulatory landscape is still too “cloudy.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas previously estimated chances of the SEC approving a spot Ether ETF in May at around 35% in March. He also noted that he’d sourced “good intel” to suggest that the SEC may be giving the silent treatment to prospective fund issuers on purpose.

Balchunas also mentioned that SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s stance on Ether could also impact the decision process as Gensler has refused to give clarity on whether Ether was a security.

While the U.S. is apparently set for another delay, some global jurisdictions have been moving forward with plans to start trading ETF products.

On April 24, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) officially approved the first batch of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, including three BTC and three ETH ETFs by China Asset Management, Harvest Global Investments and Bosera.

Following approval, Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs are expected to start trading on April 30.