SEC ETF Plans Stalled by Shutdown as Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin Await Green Light

Investors eager for a wave of new crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are facing delays as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) halts reviews during the ongoing government shutdown.

The agency, operating under contingency measures, announced it would not process applications or provide non-emergency support to registrants while federal budget negotiations remain deadlocked. This pause affects more than 90 pending ETF filings covering altcoins, multi-token strategies, and digital asset products. Analysts had predicted that the first approvals, likely Solana-focused ETFs, could arrive in early October.

Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas declared that "Crypto ETF approval season has officially arrived," highlighting a surge of applications tied to assets like XRP, Cardano, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. But with Congress locked in a budget standoff, timelines have slipped, and uncertainty looms.

Despite the disruption, optimism remains in the industry. Speaking at Token2049 in Singapore, Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev said delays were expected but stressed that business would continue largely unaffected. “It’ll get sorted eventually,” Tenev remarked, while questioning how long resolution might take.

The filings underscore a growing appetite for altcoin-based investment products, following the success of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Data from CoinGlass shows that Bitcoin ETFs now hold $150 billion in assets, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust leading the charge as the fastest-growing ETF in history. Ethereum funds also crossed $22 billion in assets under management.

Meanwhile, Solana, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $118 billion, rallied over 6% to trade above $222 on Wednesday, signaling that investors remain unfazed by Washington gridlock—and may even be treating crypto as a safe-haven amid political uncertainty.