Author: André Beganski, Decrypt
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
This year, with the U.S. SEC adopting a new regulatory approach to cryptocurrency products, ETFs have opened multiple doors for the crypto market on Wall Street.
Although asset management companies had previously made great efforts to launch products tracking the spot prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the regulatory environment began to change as Donald Trump took office as president again in January, with many companies foreseeing potential market opportunities in 2025.
For Bitcoin, according to data from Farside Investors, as of December 15, since their initial launch in January 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated net inflows of $57.7 billion, a 59% increase from $36.2 billion at the beginning of the year, but the inflows have not been stable.
For example, according to CoinGlass data, on October 6, as Bitcoin approached its all-time high of $126,000, investors poured $1.2 billion into spot Bitcoin ETFs. A few weeks later, on November 11, as Bitcoin fell below $90,000, investors withdrew $900 million from these funds.
However, this was still only the second worst day on record for spot Bitcoin ETFs: in February of this year, due to concerns about trade and inflation, these products experienced a $1 billion outflow.
For Ethereum, according to CoinGlass data, since their initial launch in July of last year, as of December 15, spot Ethereum ETFs have received net inflows of $12.6 billion. Among these, in August, as Ethereum surged to a near all-time high of $4,950, these ETFs received $1 billion in inflows in a single day.
As signs of adoption by financial institutions become increasingly evident, some are focusing their attention on the prospects of more ETFs that could drive up the prices of digital assets or expand access for new investors. However, some are relatively more focused on ETFs that simultaneously track multiple cryptocurrencies, believing such products are suitable for institutional investors.
Establishing a Universal Standard
In September, the U.S. SEC approved a universal listing standard for commodity-based trust shares, a move aimed at responding to market expectations that had been heating up for months.
The U.S. SEC's desk was piled high with ETF applications covering a wide variety of digital assets. Whether these applications would be approved depended on a question that the previous leadership of the U.S. SEC had avoided for years: Under what circumstances should a digital asset be considered a commodity?
With the introduction of the new standard, the U.S. SEC is no longer forced to make eligibility decisions on a case-by-case basis for various cryptocurrencies, from Dogecoin to presidential meme coins. Instead, it has set out uniform conditions for exchanges to determine whether digital assets meet the standards for commodity trust funds.
The most important factors include: the digital assets covered by the ETF must be traded on regulated markets and have at least six months of futures trading history, or already support ETFs with significant exposure.
In a September interview, Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg, said this means at least a dozen cryptocurrencies could immediately "qualify for listing." In his view, this move was in line with expectations.
James Seyffart, Senior Research Analyst at Bloomberg, recently stated on platform X that the approval of the universal listing standard is expected to significantly increase the number of products available to investors, but asset management companies are still waiting for approval results for at least 126 ETFs.
These applications mainly focus on tokens from emerging decentralized finance projects (such as Hyperliquid), as well as some relatively new meme coins, such as Mog.
Related reading: SEC's new rules open the floodgates for crypto ETFs, 10 spot ETFs expected to be launched?
XRP and Solana
Following Bitcoin and Ethereum, U.S. investors can now invest through ETFs tracking the spot prices of XRP and Solana, along with a variety of other digital asset-related products.
As the fifth and seventh largest digital assets by market capitalization, both XRP and Solana faced regulatory pressure during the Biden administration, but as they become the underlying assets for an increasing number of products, this pressure is gradually easing.
Last year, the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs triggered a surge in demand and drove Bitcoin prices to new highs. Although this effect was not fully replicated for cryptocurrencies with smaller market capitalizations, ETF products specifically targeting XRP and Solana still attracted a large number of investors.
Juan Leon, Senior Investment Strategist at Bitwise, said: "I don't think the impact of ETFs on prices may have met people's expectations, but in terms of the uniqueness of the products, they have been a huge success and have proven that investors are also interested in assets other than Bitcoin and Ethereum."
Juan Leon believes the timing of the November launch of Solana and XRP ETFs was "not ideal" (because) macroeconomic conditions in recent months have led to lower digital asset prices.
Nevertheless, the inflow data remains impressive. According to CoinGlass data, as of December 15, spot Solana ETFs have received net inflows of $92 million since their launch; spot XRP ETFs launched in the same month have accumulated net inflows of approximately $883 million.
The launch of Solana ETFs is notable for another reason: they are among the first ETFs to share a portion of staking rewards with investors. This development was facilitated by new guidelines issued by the U.S. Treasury and IRS last month.
Although BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, is so far one of the institutions that has not expanded its cryptocurrency-related products to more assets, Leon pointed out that the XRP and Solana communities may not need these products.
"Judging from the current operation of ETFs, the engagement, strength, and scale of these communities far exceed many people's expectations. I think this is a good sign for the development of both ecosystems in 2026."
For example, according to SoSoValue data, as of December 15, the net inflow for the Dogecoin spot ETF was $2 million.
Index Wars?
According to Gerry O’Shea, Global Market Analysis Director at Hashdex Asset Management, in 2025, the main holders of spot cryptocurrency ETFs will likely still be individual investors and hedge funds, but this situation is expected to change significantly soon.
Gerry O’Shea stated that many advisors and professional investors are still conducting due diligence on ETFs tracking cryptocurrencies, but he judges that these institutions will soon seriously consider allocations to this asset class.
On the other hand, Vanguard Group stated earlier this month that it will allow its 50 million clients to trade some spot cryptocurrency ETFs on its brokerage platform. Meanwhile, Bank of America has also approved providing private wealth clients with modest cryptocurrency allocations starting next year.
About a year ago, the regulatory environment was still fraught with uncertainty, and many institutions were not ready to enter this field. Now the focus of the market is no longer on whether to get involved, but on how to get involved.
In this sense, Gerry O’Shea believes that ETFs tracking digital asset indices will play a more important role in discussions next year. He said many professional investors prefer the product structure where fund holdings adjust dynamically over time, which gives them relative peace of mind.
Gerry O’Shea explained: "They can invest in index ETFs to gain broad exposure to the market's growth potential without needing all that detailed knowledge. They don't have to be experts on every asset."
For example, in February of this year, Hashdex launched the first spot ETF in the U.S. that tracks multiple digital assets: the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF. This ETF is based on the Nasdaq Crypto Index and holds Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar, among other mainstream cryptocurrencies.
In addition, companies such as Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Bitwise, 21Shares, and CoinShares have also launched similar products, some of which gain exposure to digital assets through derivatives. According to ETF Trends data, this series of index ETFs collectively provides investors with exposure to 19 digital assets.
Regarding institutional investors, although some U.S. pension funds purchased spot Bitcoin ETFs, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board liquidated approximately $300 million in holdings around February. This move was disclosed through 13F filings submitted quarterly by large institutional investors.
Meanwhile, allocations from the Middle East and academic institutions have been more active. For example, Al Warda Investments disclosed in November a $500 million position in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF. This investment company is linked to the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company), which is Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund.
Mubadala Investment Company itself also disclosed a position in BlackRock's product in February; as of its latest 13F filing, the position was valued at $567 million. Around the same time, the Harvard University endowment held $433 million worth of BlackRock ETF. Brown University and Emory University also disclosed their holdings of spot Bitcoin ETFs this year, becoming among the earliest adopters of this asset at the institutional level.
Analysts generally believe that this shift by institutional investors could reduce Bitcoin's volatility and narrow its drawdowns.
Gerry O’Shea, speaking about the expansion of the investment base, said: "Although the change is not drastic, it is indeed noteworthy. This shift from retail to institutional investors is very beneficial for the long-term sustainability of assets like Bitcoin, as these institutional investors have longer investment horizons."
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