The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed rulings on three high-profile crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), extending review deadlines into October.
In notices filed Aug. 18, the agency set new decision dates of Oct. 8 for NYSE Arca’s Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, Oct. 16 for 21Shares’ and Bitwise’s Solana ETFs, and Oct. 19 for the 21Shares Core XRP Trust.
The Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, submitted on June 24, is structured as a commodity-based trust holding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) directly and issuing shares backed by those assets. While branded under US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, it functions like other spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs already on the market.
Cboe BZX also seeks approval for the first US spot Solana ETFs through filings from 21Shares and Bitwise. These products would hold Solana (SOL) tokens and give investors a secure way to gain exposure to Solana’s price performance.
A separate application from 21Shares aims to launch the Core XRP Trust, designed to hold (XRP) and track its market value. First filed in February and later amended, the trust was approaching its 180-day deadline on Wednesday before the SEC granted itself an additional 60 days to review.
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October shaping up as a big month for ETF rulings
The most recent ETF extensions are not out of the ordinary. The SEC has been filing ETF extensions all summer, and many of them are shaping up to be decided on this fall.
In March, Cointelegraph reported that the SEC had delayed decisions on multiple altcoin ETF proposals, including products tied to XRP, Litecoin (LTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE).
Among them was CoinShares’ application for a spot Litecoin ETF, which would hold LTC directly and issue shares backed by the token. Cointelegraph noted that the SEC’s extension placed its deadline in the same cluster of fall reviews as other altcoin filings.
Separately, the SEC extended its review of Bitwise’s request to allow in-kind creations and redemptions for its spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Now slated for September, that decision would determine whether investors can exchange ETF shares directly for the underlying crypto rather than cash.
The SEC often uses its full extension periods to evaluate new products and collect public feedback. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote in a post on X on May 20 that the SEC “typically takes the full time to respond to a 19b‑4 filing.” He added that “almost all of these filings have final due dates in October,” and an early decision would be “out of the norm.”
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BlackRock dominates as ETF funds grow in popularity
The US market now counts a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs, several Ether products, and a growing roster of applications for SOL, XRP and other tokens. Globally, over a hundred crypto-related ETFs are listed.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust dominates the field, with more than $87 billion in assets under management (AUM). Its scale, liquidity and brand strength have set it apart, drawing the bulk of flows while rivals remain far smaller.
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