According to a Tuesday filing, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) jointly submitted by Invesco and Galaxy Digital.

A spot Ether ETF would allow investors to gain direct exposure to spot Ether. As it stands, Ether futures listed on CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) are one of the only means for regulated US investors and funds to bet on Ethereum's growth, CoinDesk reports.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, the SEC's delay was in line with forecasts: "100% expected, and more delays will continue to happen in coming months. The only date that matters for spot #ethereum ETFs at this time is May 23. Which is @vaneck_us's final deadline date."

Last month, the SEC delayed an application proposed by Grayscale Investments to convert its Ethereum trust product (ETHE) into an ETF. In addition, the US regulator delayed a decision on BlackRock's submission for an Ether ETF.

As a result, major financial players forecast Ether will rise as much as 70% within the next few months, as ETF applications are set to be given the green light in May, say reports.

"Heading into the expected approval date on May 23, we expect ETH prices to track, or outperform, Bitcoin (BTC) during the comparable period," according to a Standard Chartered Bank note published in January.

Data shows ETH was the largest gainer amongst majors over the past 24 hours, with a 2.2% increase.

At the time of writing, the price of the world's second-largest cryptocurrency is $2,364.