That could speed the approval of a range of new products. Fund shops big and small have lately filed to launch a slew of new ETFs that would track altcoins, memecoins, and tokens.
Those who enjoyed the “Summer of Crypto” may not need to fret about the coming of fall.
The top U.S. securities regulator is expected to soon decide how new crypto spot ETFs are launched, a move that could herald a raft of new products. The Securities and Exchange Commission could as soon as late September give the nod to new listing standards for commodity and- and crypto-based exchange-traded products, paving the way for a range of new offerings the industry has been eager to introduce.
Several regulatory plates are currently spinning, some which would enable the approval process of others. A nod on the listing standards, for example, could speed up approvals for exchange-traded funds based on the solana (SOLUSD) and XRP (XRPUSD) cryptocurrencies, the regulatory processes for which were already underway.
A slew of regulatory filings in recent weeks illustrates the range of products investors may soon find available, including solana and XRP-based funds but also ones for “Trump coin” (TRUMPUSD), dogecoin (DOGEUSD), and more obscure coins — like staking token jitosol (JITOSOLUSD).
CBOE BZX Exchange, NYSE Arca, and the Nasdaq proposed what are called generic listing standards for commodity- and crypto-based exchange-traded products in late July.
The proposal from the three exchanges would allow funds based on certain coins to be approved the same way regular ETFs are as governed by the 1940 Act. Crypto ETFs, including the spot bitcoin funds that launched in early 2024 and have since gathered billions in assets under management, currently undergo a lengthier process that requires additional paperwork — what are called 19b-4 applications — when asking the SEC for permission to launch digital assets ETFs.
For years, that process has stymied the debuts of new digital asset funds. Twin brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss first filed to launch a bitcoin ETF in 2013, with other fund shops following suit, but the approval of a spot bitcoin ETF didn’t come until roughly a decade later. Approvals for others have since been piecemeal.
Generic listing standards would be a win for crypto, letting ETF shops put more coins into the popular investment vehicle. It would stop short, however, of providing a crypto-specific framework that would provide insight on what coins the SEC would allow or disallow based on their utility or size, for example.
