30s Summary

The US presidential election may decide the fate of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg Intelligence. Trump’s support for making the US a hub for crypto could lead to approval of listings for altcoin ETFs and crypto index ETFs. This is contrasted against Harris and the current Biden administration, which has been harsher on the sector. Fund issuers such as Canary Capital and Bitwise have filed for XRP and SOL ETF approvals, while NYSE Arca has applied to list shares for the GDLC, a multi-crypto asset ETF.

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The upcoming US presidential contest on November 5 could have a big impact on a bunch of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) currently in the pipeline.

In 2024, a lot of submissions were made to regulators about listing ETFs holding altcoins. We’re talking about ones like Solana (SOL), XRP, and Litecoin (LTC).

People are also looking for approval for several crypto index ETFs which would hold a mix of different tokens.

According to Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, these applications are basically betting on Donald Trump winning the election.

The election is between Trump, who’s all for making America a hub for crypto, and Kamala Harris, who hasn’t been as vocal about the industry.

Under current President Joe Biden, who Harris serves under as Vice President, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been pretty tough on crypto, bringing hundreds of regulatory actions against crypto companies.

If Trump wins, keep an eye on this space, but if Harris wins, don’t expect much progress for a while, Balchunas advised at the Plan B Forum conference.

Here’s what could happen with crypto ETF issuers if Trump wins on Nov. 5.

Several different fund issuers have submitted forms to the SEC for approval on SOL ETFs. Canary Capital even filed for an ETF of its own.

The SEC has previously approved Bitcoin and Ether ETFs to list. But Ophelia Snyder, president of 21.co (owner of crypto ETF issuer 21Shares) doesn’t think this means the SEC will approve loads more crypto ETFs.

The SEC has said several times that SOL, unlike Bitcoin and Ether, is a security. However, plans to list a SOL ETF are still on the cards according to Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research.

And that’s not all. Several companies including Canary Capital, Bitwise, and 21Shares have filed for proposed XRP ETFs. Canary Capital also wants to register a spot LTC ETF.

In terms of crypto index ETFs, NYSE Arca has asked the SEC if it can list shares of the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC). This would allow the trading of shares of multi-crypto asset ETFs for the first time.

The GDLC comprises of an index portfolio with BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and Avalanche.

Grayscale is up against other proposed index funds from asset managers like Hashdex and Franklin Templeton. But GDLC is unique because it includes altcoins like SOL, AVAX, and XRP.

Right now, crypto index ETFs are only allowed to include BTC and ETH. However, the next move could be index ETFs that hold a basket of cryptos, just like people buy the S&P 500 in an ETF, according to Katalin Tischhauser, head of investment research at crypto bank Sygnum.