On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the USA acknowledged several requests concerning ETFs on Litecoin, Ripple, and Solana. The Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, Eric Balchunas, described this move by the SEC as a small step in the change of leadership.
ETF on Litecoin, Ripple, and Solana: the SEC acknowledges and advances the various requests
Yesterday, there was a lot of movement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the USA, which seems to be starting to advance with the ETF applications for Litecoin, Ripple, and Solana.
In fact, such moves bind the regulatory authority to a strict timeline for approval or rejection.
Specifically, the SEC has acknowledged Grayscale’s request to issue its Exchange-Traded Fund on Solana and the ETF on Litecoin. In the case of Grayscale’s ETF on SOL, the SEC now has until October to approve or deny the request.
Another particular acknowledgment by the SEC then seems to concern BlackRock’s proposal to allow in-kind creations and redemptions on the iShares Bitcoin ETF.
Regarding the ETF on Ripple (XRP), it seems that the Cboe has submitted several 19b-4 documents to list and trade the future XRP ETFs issued by Bitwise, 21Shares, Canary Capital, and WisdomTree.
All four issuers had previously filed the S-1s, which are the first step to bringing an ETF to market.
ETF on Litecoin, Ripple and Solana: a first step that shows the change in leadership
These movements in the ETF space on cryptocurrencies by the SEC have been commented on by analysts.
In particular, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, highlighted how the change in leadership is beginning to show even through the SEC.
Here’s what Balchunas said in a his post on X:
“It is remarkable because it is the first time that an ETF tracking a coin that was previously called a “security” is recognized by the SEC. Only six weeks ago, the SEC led by Genz had told the CBOE to withdraw its Solana 19b-4. So we are now in new territory, even if only a small step, but apparently the direct result of the change in leadership.”
Also yesterday, Grayscale also submitted its application to the SEC to list the shares of its Litecoin Trust fund as an ETP on the NYSE Arca.
Trump Administration and the SEC crypto Task Force
Recently, the USA SEC made headlines for the downsizing of its crypto task force, its specialized unit in the enforcement of cryptocurrency regulations.
Until now, this task force was composed of over 50 lawyers and staff members who, however, with the Trump administration, will be reduced.
The objective of this unit is to counter fraud and manipulation in the crypto market and to protect investors.
Obviously, its downsizing, with the decision to assign some lawyers to other departments, has raised questions about the future direction of regulation.
