In short
- Coming SEC Chair Paul Atkins will have more than 70 crypto ETF candidates to evaluate when he begins in the position.
- Money pegged to Dogecoin, Pengu, Solana, XRP, and the Melania image coin are all in the mixture.
- After punting on XRP ETFs in March, the company can postpone its ultimate decision until mid-October.
Coming SEC Chair Paul Atkins will have an deluge of crypto-related uses to search through when he actually takes control of the controller.
Enthusiastic manufacturers then await comments on 72 crypto-linked exchange-traded money in the U. S. , including calls to record options, according to Bloomberg ETF scientist Eric Balchunas.
“Gonna been a crazy year, ” he said on X, previously Twitter, on Monday, noting ETF candidates have positioned themselves to provide money for goods ranging from Solana to the first lady’s image gold.
There are now 72 crypto-related ETFs sitting with the SEC awaiting approval to table or table options. Everyone from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between. Gonna been a crazy year. Great summary from @JSeyff photograph. tweets. com/IHTqqxeH35
— Eric Balchunas ( @EricBalchunas ) April 21, 2025
Atkins was confirmed as U. S. President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission by a whole Senate voting around two weeks ago. His swearing-in meeting is expected to take place immediately, marking an official launch to the SEC ’s push to govern crypto jointly under new management.
Although Atkins was a champion of restructuring during his previous stay at the SEC, experts say the crypto-friendly senior may have to make a dozen first-time calls, especially when it comes to which cryptocurrencies may get approved for listings as commodity-based trusts.
Balchunas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from .
Last month, the SEC approved area Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. While the clearances represented a site moment for the blockchain industry, it raised deeper issues about which bitcoin should be regulated as assets, and therefore be allowed to trade on Wall Street in a similar fashion to possessions like silver.
In total, asset managers are looking for feedback on applications tied to 15 different cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Those include applications centered on digital assets with large valuations like Solana, Dogecoin, and XRP—alongside relatively nascent ones like the Solana-based tokens Bonk, Pengu, and Official Trump.
Under Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda, the agency has chipped away at some regulatory uncertainty. In February, the SEC said that it generally does n’t consider meme coins to be securities, but it did n’t advise whether they were fitting for Wall Street wrappers.
For assets like XRP, the SEC won’t be forced to make a decision immediately after Atkins takes the reins at the agency. After punting on XRP ETFs in March, the agency can delay its final decision until mid-October.
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