As SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s time period nears its finish on January 20, a wave of crypto-focused ETF functions has flooded the regulatory physique.
This sudden surge displays business anticipation of a probably extra crypto-friendly regulatory strategy below President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
On January 17, a number of companies made important filings, together with ProShares, which submitted a proposal for a Solana Futures ETF. This fund would permit traders to realize publicity to Solana’s value actions by futures contracts reasonably than direct holdings. Regardless of its potential, some specialists, akin to ETF analyst James Seyffart, raised issues concerning the liquidity of Solana futures, suggesting such ETFs might not change into viable within the U.S. till 2026.
CoinShares additionally filed for a brand new ETF that tracks its proprietary Compass Crypto Market Index, whereas ProShares expanded its filings to incorporate leveraged and inverse ETFs linked to XRP. Different corporations, together with Bitwise and WisdomTree, joined the frenzy with spot XRP ETF functions. Tidal DeFi proposed a unique strategy, with a fund aimed toward debt devices tied to crypto ecosystem corporations, together with miners and fee suppliers.
Earlier within the week, VanEck submitted its “Onchain Economic system” ETF proposal, designed to spend money on a variety of cryptocurrency-related companies, from infrastructure builders to exchanges. This numerous wave of filings alerts how asset managers are positioning themselves forward of what may very well be a pivotal shift in U.S. crypto regulation.
