SEC Throws Curveball at Crypto ETFs: Delays Decisions, Shakes Up Markets

Dogecoin, Hedera, and Avalanche ETFs Left Hanging

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just slammed the brakes on several crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposals, leaving investors on the edge of their seats. The fate of these ETFs? Totally up in the air.

In a bombshell move this week, the SEC hit pause on three ETF proposals—yep, you guessed it, Dogecoin, Hedera, and Avalanche. Talk about a gut punch to the crypto world!

These ETFs, thrown into the ring earlier this year by Bitwise, Grayscale, and VanEck, were aiming to shake things up with spot ETFs backed directly by DOGE, HBAR, and AVAX. If approved, these bad boys would've given investors a legit way to dive into these assets. But hold your horses, folks—the SEC's not ready to roll the dice just yet.

The SEC's dropping the hammer, saying they need more time to chew on the proposals. They're sweating over investor protection and market integrity, and they're opening up proceedings to dig deeper and see if these ETFs pass the smell test.

“Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved," the releases say. "Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change.” In other words, they're not saying no, but they're not saying yes either.

This move is a total shocker, completely flipping the script on what the industry was expecting. Just this week, Bloomberg's James Seyffart was betting big on approval, pegging the odds at a solid 75% to 80%. But the SEC's throwing cold water on those hopes, and the market's feeling the burn.

The SEC's decision sent shockwaves through the markets, tanking investor confidence and sparking a wild sell-off across the board. AVAX took the biggest hit, crashing 12.5% from $21.25 to $18.60 in a flash. HBAR wasn't far behind, nosediving 11.5% from $0.1708 to $0.1512.

Even DOGE, the least affected of the trio, couldn't escape the carnage, dropping 10.2% from $0.1906 to $0.1711. Sure, they've clawed back a bit since the initial plunge, but these tokens are still licking their wounds as the uncertainty around ETF approval hangs heavy in the air.