Issuers of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) need to be selective about which tokens they include, as much of the market remains “pretty sketchy,” according to REX Financial CEO Greg King.
“Once you get below the top 10 cryptocurrencies — certainly below the top 20 — things get pretty questionable,” King said in an interview with Bloomberg’s ETF IQ on Monday.
He noted that ETF providers face the challenge of making careful choices, adding that he doesn’t expect “a huge explosion” of new filings for different cryptocurrencies, but rather “a lot of funds per coin.”
The success of spot Bitcoin ETFs has sparked a wave of applications for crypto-focused funds, especially as the Securities and Exchange Commission under President Donald Trump has shown a more favorable stance toward the sector.
REX itself is seeking approval for ETFs linked to memecoins — tokens often considered to lack intrinsic value — including Bonk, Trump’s token, Official Trump, and Dogecoin, which currently ranks as the tenth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
King hails Solana as “the future” of stablecoins
In early July, REX Financial rolled out a Solana ETF that also offered exposure to staking rewards — the payouts earned by locking up tokens to help secure the blockchain.
King noted that Solana is “faster and built for high processing speed,” yet has been largely overlooked as a platform for stablecoins, which remain more widely used on rival blockchain Ethereum.
“Frankly, when I saw the big debate come out about stablecoins being all built on ETH [Ethereum], I was like ‘this is a huge oversight.’ I think Solana is actually the story for the future as far as stablecoins go.”
“A lot of people think that Solana is the up-and-comer that’s going to sort of dethrone Ethereum,” he added. “It’s a very controversial debate. I probably made friends and enemies by even suggesting that.”
Anticipate more ETFs for each cryptocurrency
King also weighed in on the outlook for crypto ETFs, saying he expects “somewhat of an explosion” in launches over the coming months.
“Nowhere else in the ETF space do you see six, eight, 10, even 12 issuers lining up to roll out the same product, like we’ve seen with Bitcoin, then Ethereum, and now Solana,” he told Bloomberg.
He added that the trend is likely to continue, with numbers multiplying as demand grows.
King also described Solana as a “great candidate” for a spot ETF, calling it “pretty interesting as a portfolio investment” given its rivalry with Ethereum and its “much larger staking reward.”
Nine issuers race to launch Solana ETF
Nine issuers have filed to launch a spot Solana ETF, including VanEck, Bitwise, Grayscale, 21Shares, CoinShares, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Investments, and a joint offering from Invesco and Galaxy Digital.
The SEC is widely expected to approve the applications by October, with both analysts and prediction market traders signaling near-certain approval.
