OneSafe warns products may be liquidated for low AUM, citing ARKY and ARKC, and urges competition on fees, custody, risk controls and active strategy.
Crypto exchange traded products are lining up for a breakout year, but the pipeline raises a question about demand. In a TradingView report, Bitwise researcher Ryan Rasmussen said he expects more than 100 crypto linked ETPs to launch in 2026, ranging from spot exposure to index, smart beta and momentum formats. He tied the acceleration to the SEC’s rollout of listing standards that remove the need for individual 19(b) approvals for qualifying products, compressing what he described as a 240 day wait.
For investors, the upside is a menu explosion for crypto ETPs, the kind of selection that Rasmussen likened to the Cheesecake Factory. The context is striking: he noted it has been almost 15 years since the first Bitcoin ETF application, yet the market feels young. Meanwhile, Fineqia International said the total number of crypto ETPs has recently surpassed 300. That gap between supply and enthusiasm will define 2026.
If the launch calendar fills, product proliferation could become a catalyst. Rasmussen said many market participants view additional ETPs that track altcoins as a bullish signal, and the TradingView report noted a separate view from Bitfinex analysts in August: broad altcoin rallies are unlikely until funds offer exposure beyond the largest cryptocurrencies. Policy is the hinge. The SEC’s listing standards, rolled out in fall 2025, are framed as a roadmap for issuers to list when assets meet certain criteria, pushing the market toward faster listing rails, tougher differentiation. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said on Sept. 17 that the change is a positive step toward a wave of spot crypto ETP launches. Santa Clara University finance professor Seoyoung Kim added that while Bitcoin and Ether categories are legitimized, the new rules could cut approval timelines for other digital asset ETPs from years to months, provided they still meet existing standards.
The bullish case, however, collides with an attrition rate. OneSafe’s analysis anticipates more than 100 new crypto ETPs in 2026, including offerings tied to tokens such as Litecoin, Solana and XRP, but warns many may struggle to attract flows and could be liquidated. It points to prior closures driven by low assets under management and weak investor interest, citing the ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF (ARKY) and the ARK 21Shares Active On Chain Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ARKC) as examples.
That backdrop reframes the opportunity: survival hinges on fees, operations, and risk controls. OneSafe argues issuers may need active approaches, including proprietary momentum and dynamic shifts between crypto futures and US Treasuries. It also highlights risk tools such as diversification into stablecoins or Treasuries, dollar cost averaging and stop loss orders, plus cost discipline, secure custody, verifiable hedges and compliance. In a saturated shelf, differentiation becomes the business model.
