- The SEC just passed new ETF approval standards.
- Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds have been wildly successful.
- For James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence, the floodgates are opening.
Brace yourself, for Wall Street is about to get flooded with crypto exchange-traded funds.
“We’re going to get well over a hundred ETFs probably that are going to be involved in the crypto space in the next six to 12 months,” James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said on a podcast Wednesday.
The catalyst: new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that lets crypto ETFs launch in 75 days instead of their current 240-day slog through the regulatory mud. Any fund that meets basic criteria, like having a futures contract on a regulated US exchange, gets approval. The new rules went into effect on September 17.
Now, even memecoins such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu “fit the criteria for those generic listing standards,” Seyffart explained.
“So theoretically, you could file an ETF and within the next few months get a SHIB ETF.”
None of this could’ve been possible without two things: Bitcoin ETFs’ stunning success and Donald Trump. For one, the $152 billion sitting in Bitcoin ETFs changed everything, proving that enormous demand existed for crypto exchange-traded products.
Second, Donald Trump’s appointing myriad pro-crypto policymakers to key positions in the federal government has led to new rules that will stop bludgeoning the crypto industry — and instead help it blossom.
Memecoins
Dogecoin ETFs are already filed and “could launch within the next month or two,” according to Seyffart.
In fact, a fund dubbed REX-Osprey already used a regulatory workaround to launch a DOGE ETF last week, though with marketing restrictions.
It launched with“shockingly solid” results, according to Seyffart’s colleague, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.
The irony is thick. Dogecoin was created as satire, while Shiba Inu exists purely to mock Dogecoin. Now both could have Wall Street funds charging management fees to own them.
Still, these aren’t like BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund. Many will use payment subsidiaries or hold overseas ETFs, creating “some inefficiencies” and “fee drag,” Seyffart warned.
But they’ll provide US investors with exposure to crypto in a familiar package.
Gary Gensler
The shift represents a complete reversal from the Gary Gensler era, when getting a single Bitcoin ETF approved took over a decade of legal battles.
Under the new system, crypto ETFs would work like stock- and bond-based funds have since 2019. Back then, the SEC created generic listing standards that streamlined approvals.
The result: annual ETF launches jumped from 117 to over 370.
Now crypto gets the same treatment.
Instead of filing massive documents and waiting 240 days for each fund, issuers can launch in 75 days if they don’t hear objections from the SEC. It’s the difference between begging for permission and assuming approval.
“All this does is strip out a lot of the roadblocks and time,” Seyffart said.
Brace yourself, for Wall Street is about to get flooded with crypto exchange-traded funds.
“We’re going to get well over a hundred ETFs probably that are going to be involved in the crypto space in the next six to 12 months,” James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said on a podcast Wednesday.
The catalyst: new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that lets crypto ETFs launch in 75 days instead of their current 240-day slog through the regulatory mud. Any fund that meets basic criteria, like having a futures contract on a regulated US exchange, gets approval. The new rules went into effect on September 17.
Now, even memecoins such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu “fit the criteria for those generic listing standards,” Seyffart explained.
“So theoretically, you could file an ETF and within the next few months get a SHIB ETF.”
None of this could’ve been possible without two things: Bitcoin ETFs’ stunning success and Donald Trump. For one, the $152 billion sitting in Bitcoin ETFs changed everything, proving that enormous demand existed for crypto exchange-traded products.
Second, Donald Trump’s appointing myriad pro-crypto policymakers to key positions in the federal government has led to new rules that will stop bludgeoning the crypto industry — and instead help it blossom.
Memecoins
Dogecoin ETFs are already filed and “could launch within the next month or two,” according to Seyffart.
In fact, a fund dubbed REX-Osprey already used a regulatory workaround to launch a DOGE ETF last week, though with marketing restrictions.
It launched with“shockingly solid” results, according to Seyffart’s colleague, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.
The irony is thick. Dogecoin was created as satire, while Shiba Inu exists purely to mock Dogecoin. Now both could have Wall Street funds charging management fees to own them.
Still, these aren’t like BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund. Many will use payment subsidiaries or hold overseas ETFs, creating “some inefficiencies” and “fee drag,” Seyffart warned.
But they’ll provide US investors with exposure to crypto in a familiar package.
Gary Gensler
The shift represents a complete reversal from the Gary Gensler era, when getting a single Bitcoin ETF approved took over a decade of legal battles.
Under the new system, crypto ETFs would work like stock- and bond-based funds have since 2019. Back then, the SEC created generic listing standards that streamlined approvals.
The result: annual ETF launches jumped from 117 to over 370.
Now crypto gets the same treatment.
Instead of filing massive documents and waiting 240 days for each fund, issuers can launch in 75 days if they don’t hear objections from the SEC. It’s the difference between begging for permission and assuming approval.
“All this does is strip out a lot of the roadblocks and time,” Seyffart said.
Pedro Solimano is DL News’ Buenos Aires-based markets correspondent. Got at a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.