Ethereum Staking ETF Controversy Heats Up as BlackRock's Delayed Application Triggers Market Calls for SEC to Reject "Blanket Approval"

On July 20th, as per DL News, "All at Once or One by One"—this is the dilemma that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is encountering when deliberating on how to handle the Ethereum spot ETF collateral amendment. This week, the iShares Ethereum Trust, which is owned by BlackRock, submitted an application to add collateral functionality, once again sparking the discussion regarding the SEC's batch approval process. While Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, 21Shares, and Fidelity had submitted similar requests months earlier, BlackRock's proposal came later, with its final approval deadline set for April 2026. Although the deadline may appear to be far away, analysts anticipate that the SEC will reach a decision earlier—potentially as early as the fourth quarter of this year—and provide a unified ruling for all applicants. This approach would be in line with the SEC's approval process for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs last year.