The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed until October a decision on all spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications submitted by firms including BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Wise Origin, VanEck, Bitwise and Valkyrie Digital Assets, according to agency filings on Thursday. The SEC began reviewing the latest slate of applications from both crypto-heavy and traditional finance firms last month. The applicants hope to launch the first spot bitcoin ETF, which advocates have argued will allow for greater retail investment in the bitcoin market while saving investors the trouble of setting up a wallet or having to buy the cryptocurrency directly.