SEC Hits Pause on Grayscale’s Altcoin ETF Ambitions—Solana and Litecoin in Limbo
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission just slammed the brakes on Grayscale’s latest crypto ETF push—delaying decisions on Solana, Litecoin, and other altcoins. Another day, another regulatory speed bump for Wall Street’s favorite new asset class.
Sources say the SEC needs ’additional time’ (translation: more paperwork to ignore) before ruling on these filings. Meanwhile, traders shrug and keep stacking sats—because when has bureaucracy ever stopped crypto?
Fun fact: These delays come just as institutional investors start whispering about ’the next Bitcoin ETF.’ Maybe the SEC prefers keeping its rubber stamp warm for BlackRock’s next filing.
The SEC Keeps Delaying Altcoin ETFs
Since the SEC came under new management under the TRUMP administration, it’s been hit with a flood of ETF proposals. Although professional analysts and community enthusiasts are bullish about approval odds, it hasn’t happened yet.
Nonetheless, when the Commission postponed Grayscale’s Solana and Litecoin ETF applications, reactions have been muted.
“Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change,” the SEC claimed in its delay filing.
Indeed, the Commission has been postponing several ETF applications over the last few weeks. When the SEC delayed Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF, this fell in line with analysts’ predictions.
Previously, analysts claimed that a Litecoin ETF is more likely than any other altcoin product, but didn’t comment on today’s events.
The market is also anticipating a solana ETF, but progress isn’t coming yet. At this point, the market is starting to price in these delays.
Last week, Litecoin rallied after the SEC delayed an ETF filing, defying bearish assumptions. So far, neither of the underlying tokens has seen much of a price MOVE after the Commission’s announcement.
Still, there are plenty of reasons to be bullish about approval in the long term. Less than a week ago, the SEC met with representatives from BlackRock to discuss ETF regulations.
These talks included high-level associates from the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF issuer; the Head and Director of both Digital Assets and Regulatory Affairs were present.
In other words, the SEC is delaying things, but it’s probably going to approve several of these altcoin ETFs in the end. The Commission is seeking industry feedback on long-term implications, but it hasn’t given an outwardly negative sign yet.
Of course, the industry WOULD love speedy SEC approval for all these ETF filings. However, as the recent rate cuts saga clearly indicates, it doesn’t need things like this to maintain profitability.
The crypto market has a lot of solid fundamentals right now, which will benefit these assets, even if the Commission keeps dragging its feet for months.
