The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed decisions on multiple applications for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for XRP, Litecoin, Solana, and Dogecoin.
SEC Delay on ETFs
The SEC announced on March 11 that it is designating a longer period to decide on proposed rule changes that would allow the ETFs to proceed to the next stage. The affected ETFs include Cboe BZX Exchange’s spot Solana ETF and Grayscale’s XRP ETF filings. The SEC now has until May to reach a decision on these funds.
Bloomberg Expert's Commentary
While the SEC has declined to deliver a decision on the ETFs, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said he expected the delay, calling it part of the 'standard procedure.' He added that US President Donald Trump's pick for SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, has not even been confirmed yet. 'This doesn’t change our (relatively high) odds of approval,' he said, adding that the final deadline for decisions on the funds is October.
Gensler's Resignation and New Applications
The SEC’s move to delay its decision for several altcoin ETFs comes after the agency received several applications for funds linked to cryptos other than Bitcoin and Ethereum at the beginning of the year. The catalyst was the resignation of former anti-crypto SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC opted for a regulation by enforcement approach for US companies operating in the crypto space. Since he stepped down on January 20 and pro-crypto Donald Trump entered the White House on the same day, several lawsuits against crypto firms have been dropped.
The SEC's postponement of ETF decisions brings uncertainty to the crypto community, but it was anticipated and is part of the standard process. The official decision is due in October.
