The crypto industry has been propelled by investments pouring into Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds. To this day, only two spot ETFs—Bitcoin and Ethereum—have been granted approval by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Over 72 filings including XRP ETFs are still pending approval, leaving investors desperate for answers on the next approvements.
With BTC and ETH ETFs being successfully launched, there is hope for more additions to the list. Unfortunately, there has been no further progress since. Anticipated changes in April, including Franklin Templeton’s XRP ETF and Fidelity’s ETH staking ETF have been postponed and will not take place until at least June.
Bloomberg analysts suggest that there could be further delays and may not see updates until October 2025. There is some hope as Paul Atkins, a notable pro-crypto, takes on his new role as a decision maker at the SEC; potentially pushing decisions further up the schedule to Q3 to 2025.
Bitcoin ETFs, which received SEC approval in early 2024, are still leading the pack with trading figures of $2.54 billion and assets under management of $113.62 billion. Their success seems to have further aided Bitcoin in reaching new price peaks.
In the same time frame, Ethereum’s ETF, albeit a little less popular, still commands good attention with a market cap of $177.15 billion and assets under management of $8.69 billion. Global trade conflict volatility caused some strains on both ETFs but there are now signs of recovery.
Coinroop reports Bitcoin ETFs accrued inflows of $591 million and $172.8 million back to back days, while Ethereum ETFs saw $35.81K and $10.23K. This exudes institutional investor optimism and bullish sentiment inclined towards Ethereum’s ETFs, regardless of uncertain regulations.
Change is minimal looking out to May 2025. One event of note is the planned launch of CME futures XRP ETF on May 19. This could initiate a chain reaction of updates to other ETFs, especially if there is more crypto-friendly leadership in the SEC.
The SEC’s changing attitude towards digital assets is likely to align with the improving economic environment which includes interest rate cuts, ultimately leading to higher ETF inflows. Although altcoin ETFs are still pending full approval, concrete advancements are being planned for late 2025. For now, investors sit on the fence as they wait to react to regulatory developments and market movements.
