SEC Slams Brakes on Grayscale’s Crypto ETF Ambitions—Solana and Litecoin Left in Regulatory Limbo

The SEC just hit the pause button on Grayscale’s push for Solana and Litecoin ETFs—another reminder that crypto innovation moves faster than Washington’s rulebooks.

Why the holdup? Same old story: regulators still treating crypto like a wild west show while Wall Street’s own casino runs 24/7. The usual ’investor protection’ script gets dusted off whenever digital assets threaten to compete with legacy finance’s gravy train.

What’s next? More delays, more paperwork, and another victory for the ’move slow and break nothing’ brigade. Meanwhile, the crypto markets will do what they always do—bypass gatekeepers and keep building.

(Funny how ’protecting the little guy’ never applies when the NYSE lists another money-losing meme stock.)

SEC delays Grayscale’s ETF proposals

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently extended its review of Grayscale’s applications for Spot Solana [SOL] and Litecoin [LTC] ETFs. 

According to the agency, more time is required to examine whether these filings meet key standards on investor protection and market integrity.

The review falls under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a statute often used to assess novel financial products.

If eventually approved, the ETF would enable investors to gain exposure to solana through traditional brokerage platforms.

A similar extension was applied to Grayscale’s Litecoin Trust, with the SEC citing the need for more time to assess whether the application fulfills legal and market structure requirements.

Both filings now face a prolonged evaluation process, potentially involving multiple phases before a final verdict is delivered.

This followed Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas recently drawing attention to the growing pile-up of crypto ETF filings, now totaling 72, highlighting an increasingly competitive race for regulatory clearance in the digital asset investment space.

Polymarket trend and price action

Despite the delay, market sentiment hasn’t soured. In fact, Polymarket odds remained bullish.

As of press time, there’s strong optimism surrounding approval odds; the chances of a Solana ETF being green lit by the end of 2025 are 82%, with the Litecoin ETF close behind at 80%.

Interestingly, the price action of major altcoins also reflected resilience, as Solana traded at $182.13 and Litecoin at $$104.45, both logging notable gains over the past 24 hours.