Simply put
- The SEC’s ruling on the Spot Altcoin ETF application is currently stalled due to the government shutdown.
- There’s cautious optimism among analysts that the agency may approve Solana’s funds soon.
- Regulators are reviewing over 90 submissions for funds linked to various cryptocurrencies, token mixes, and digital asset strategies.
Investors eager for approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking different altcoins will have to wait, as the government is currently shut down.
The regulator emphasized that during this lapse, they “do not review and approve applications” for products and can’t provide “non-emergency support to subscribers.” This is laid out in their operational plan.
At this moment, the SEC is examining more than 90 ETF applications based on diverse altcoin spot prices and strategies. Some analysts from Bloomberg Fund anticipate that approvals, possibly starting with a Solana-focused product, might come early in October.
Eric Baltunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, recently noted, “The Crypto ETF approval season has officially arrived!”
Issuers from both traditional finance and the crypto worlds have proposed funds tied to XRP, Cardano, Litecoin, Dogecoin, among others.
However, as political negotiations regarding budget disagreements continue, the October timeline now seems increasingly uncertain.
As of Wednesday, neither side had garnered enough support to bypass the filibuster. Consequently, government agencies have been required to scale back their operations, with the SEC acknowledging a limited workforce “until further notice.”
During the Token2049 event in Singapore, Robinhood’s CEO Vladimir Tenev addressed the audience, mentioning, “There may be delays, but there is optimism that we’ve got over that and there aren’t many business disruptions.”
“I think it’ll end up sorting itself out,” Tenev added. “The real question is how long this will take.”
Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, expressed on social media that “shutdowns will definitely impact the launch of the new Spot Crypto ETF,” while commenting that “ETF Cryptober may be on hold for a bit.”
The surge of applications over the past year and a half reflects the growing demand for products focused on digital assets, particularly after the success of Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum funds.
According to Coinglass, a data analytics service, 11 BTC funds under BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust manage around $150 billion in assets, while Ethereum funds exceed $22 billion.
Solana, currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap exceeding $78 billion, has recently surpassed $222, gaining over 6% as the overall crypto market saw an uptick on Wednesday.
