Solana Policy Institute (SPI) head President Kristin Smith believes that “momentum will return” to Washington, D.C., as the U.S. government shutdown hits the three-week mark, delaying anticipated crypto progress.
“We’re several weeks into the federal government shutdown in Washington,” Smith wrote in an October 20 X post. “A disruption, yes. A derailment, no. Crypto progress — in Washington and on Wall Street — continues.”
Although Smith acknowledges that the shutdown has “temporarily paused agency function” at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — including IPO approvals and ETP reviews — the SPI head says the organization expects many of the pending applications will “move forward quickly.”
“The next phase of crypto policy will define how — and where — innovation happens,” Smith added. “Washington will reopen. Momentum will return.”
Crypto proponents have expressed concern over the U.S. government shutdown’s impact on the crypto sector, with several digital asset ETFs still awaiting approval amidst the political dysfunction.
Shortly before the shutdown, the SEC asked candidates to rescind their 19-b filings in favor of generic listing standards that would effectively take over separate filings.
Data this month from research and consultancy firm ETFGI shows that the U.S. ETF industry hit $12.70 trillion in assets by the end of September, with crypto-focused funds, such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC US) and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH US), bringing in $220 million alone.
However, U.S. lawmakers are still unable to find a path forward when it comes to ending the federal shutdown after an 11th vote to fund the government failed again on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are slated to meet with top crypto executives in a roundtable on Wednesday in hopes of advancing crypto policy.
With political gridlock at a fever pitch, it is still unclear when formal digital asset policymaking will resume on Capitol Hill.
