The Tuesday notices will push the SEC’s deadline to approve or disapprove of the ETFs to late July, though it could be delayed further at that time.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened public comments for two proposed cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, from asset manager Franklin Templeton to be listed on the Chicago Board Options BZX Exchange.
In separate filings on Tuesday, the SEC said it was instituting proceedings that could allow the US exchange to list and trade shares of the Franklin XRP ETF and Franklin Solana ETF. The Cboe BZX Exchange filed for a proposed rule change with the SEC in March to allow for approval of the investment vehicle, which the regulator delayed in April, pushing its deadline for a decision until Tuesday.
“Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved,” said the SEC in both filings. “Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change.”
Upon publication in the federal register, the SEC notices will effectively push the deadline to decide on whether to approve or disapprove of the Franklin Templeton ETFs by 35 days, to July. Though the US regulator has already greenlit spot investment vehicles for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), many companies are vying to be the first to be approved for tokens like XRP, Solana (SOL), and others.
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US exchanges with proposed listings from several asset managers have already filed with the SEC for listing and trading investment vehicles with exposure to SOL or XRP, including Bitwise, ProShares, and 21Shares. The SEC has radically altered its regulatory approach to digital assets under the Trump administration and the president’s pick to chair the agency, Paul Atkins, by dropping several high-profile enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies.
It’s unclear whether this handling of digital assets could extend to ETFs tied to XRP or Solana. However, Trump proposed having both assets as part of his plans for a US crypto stockpile.
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