Crypto ETFs: The Show Must Go On! 🚀

News Analysis

What to know:

  • October’s expected wave of crypto ETF approvals was derailed when the U.S. government shutdown paused SEC decision-making 🙅‍♂️.
  • Four crypto ETFs were listed this week through a procedural shortcut that allowed them to go live without active SEC approval 🤯.
  • Fidelity and Canary Capital have now filed updated S-1 forms using the same method, which could bring new ETFs to market as early as November 13 📆.

October was supposed to be the month when long-awaited crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally hit U.S. markets 🎉. Deadlines for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve or deny several spot crypto ETF applications were lined up throughout the month 📅. But when the U.S. government shut down, the process froze ❄️ – and deadlines stopped mattering 🙅‍♂️.

Now November could take October’s place 🎈. Several issuers are using a procedural route that doesn’t require an active SEC sign-off 🤝. It’s the same approach that allowed four crypto ETFs – two from Canary Capital, one from Bitwise and one from Grayscale – to start trading earlier this week despite the regulatory paralysis 🤯.

Issuers are filing updated S-1 registration statements that include “no delaying amendment” language 📝. Under U.S. securities law, those filings automatically become effective after 20 days unless the SEC steps in to issue a stay or request changes 🚨. For the four ETFs that listed this week, the SEC didn’t act 🙅‍♂️, allowing them to go live by default 🤷‍♂️.

That success has sparked a wave of new filings 📈. On Thursday, Fidelity submitted an updated S-1 for its spot Solana ETF, and Canary Capital did the same for its XRP ETF 📊. If the SEC continues to follow its current track and doesn’t block the process 🚫, the market could see its first XRP fund as soon as November 13 📆.

Still, there are limits to how far this workaround can go 🚧. While the SEC has already reviewed filings tied to Solana, HBAR and Litecoin ETFs, it hasn’t engaged much with the XRP application 🤔 – a gap that could prompt the agency to halt its automatic approval 🚫.

“I think it’s possible we see a bunch of the funds launch next month 📈. And that could be true whether or not the government reopens 🤔. But there are funds with filings that simply have not yet received any feedback from the SEC on their S-1s (prospectuses) and I’m not sure that they can launch without the SEC getting back to work 💼,” said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence 💡. “So yes a bunch will likely launch next month but there are some that are simply unlikely to launch without the government reopening 🚫.”

For investors, the shift marks a new phase in the yearslong effort to bring crypto ETFs to U.S. markets 🚀. Instead of waiting for the SEC’s formal blessing 🙏, issuers are using procedural mechanics to move forward 🔧. Whether that momentum carries through November may depend less on market readiness 🤔 – and more on whether the government gets back to work 💼.

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2025-11-02 16:17