Crypto-Focused ETF Applications Surge as SEC Lightens Up
The SEC acknowledged applications for Solana and Litecoin ETFs while the Cboe pushed for XRP products, marking a shift in crypto fund oversight.
Investors may soon have a wider array of crypto-focused investment products from which to choose after the Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged Grayscale applications for funds based on the spot price of Solana and Litecoin and the Cboe submitted filings for funds based on XRP.
The separate events on Thursday, and a filing by BlackRock to amend its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) fund, underscore issuers' growing confidence in the more favorable crypto regulatory environment under the new Trump administration, and their efforts to meet skyrocketing demand for crypto products.
The SEC must still approve the applications. Last year, the regulator approved applications for funds based on the performance of bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies. Solana, Litecoin and XRP have smaller market capitalizations and are lesser known.
Under acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the agency appears more receptive to crypto products than it was under former Chair Gary Gensler, who was considered more hostile toward the industry. Gensler's SEC frequently raised concerns over market manipulation, investor protections, and regulatory clarity.
This leadership change comes as issuers widen their crypto investment offerings to meet soaring demand for these products by consumers and institutional investors.
Evolving Crypto ETF Landscape
According to the filings, the SEC acknowledged Grayscale's applications for both Solana and Litecoin ETFs on Thursday, expanding on its recent review of Canary Capital's Litecoin ETF filing and signaling a broader openness to crypto investment products.
"This is actually newsworthy because the SEC had refused to do this in recent filing attempts for SOL," Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote on X.
The change follows a slew of separate filings Thursday by the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade XRP ETFs from four issuers: Bitwise, WisdomTree, Canary Capital, and 21Shares.
Read More: Trump Media Files to Trademark New ETF, SMA Suite
Separately, BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world's largest asset manager, is seeking to modify its existing bitcoin ETF structure. According to an SEC filing, the firm requested permission to allow in-kind redemptions for its IBIT, potentially streamlining the funds operations.
The flurry of activity comes as the industry tests the boundaries under new SEC leadership. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in an X post called the developments "notable," suggesting they were "seemingly the direct result of leadership change" at the SEC.
These developments follow Trump Media & Technology Group's (DJT) announcement of plans to launch its own crypto-focused ETF, the TruthFi Bitcoin Plus ETF, further expanding the growing field of digital asset investment products.
