JPMorgan Skeptical About SEC Approval of Solana, Other Crypto ETFs

JPMorgan casts significant doubt on the SEC approving additional cryptocurrency ETFs beyond Ethereum ETH/USD, due to concerns over the classification of most cryptocurrencies as securities.

What Happened: JPMorgan's managing director and global market strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou expressed skepticism regarding the SEC's willingness to approve ETFs for cryptocurrencies like Solana SOL/USD, The Block reported. He said the SEC's decision to approve Ethereum ETFs was already a stretch due to ongoing ambiguity about Ethereum's classification as a security.

His comments come in the wake of the SEC's approval of spot Ethereum ETFs last week, an event seen as politically motivated by some analysts. The SEC approved 19b-4 forms from various applicants such as Grayscale ETHE, Bitwise, BlackRock BLK, VanEck, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, Fidelity and Franklin in a sweeping order. Despite this progress, the actual trading of these ETFs is still contingent on the SEC's final sign-off on S-1 registrations, anticipated to occur in the coming weeks.

Panigirtzoglou emphasizes that unless U.S. policymakers enact legislation to clarify that most cryptocurrencies are not securities, the prospect of new crypto ETFs remains bleak.

Contrarily, some analysts hold a more optimistic view. Standard Chartered Bank’s Geoffrey Kendrick anticipates the approval of Solana and XRP XRP/USD ETFs by 2025, while TD Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg suggests the possibility of a “basket of crypto tokens” ETF within a year.

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Why It Matters: Analysts have speculated whether other cryptocurrencies like Solana or Dogecoin could be next in line for ETF approval. Some analysts have predicted that Solana might find it challenging to outperform Ethereum following the latter’s ETF approval.

With the House of Representatives recently passing the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), colloquially dubbed the "crypto bill," industry experts anticipate a more accommodating regulatory backdrop for cryptocurrencies in the near future. Whether that will translate into further cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds remains to be seen.

What’s Next: The influence of Ethereum as an institutional asset is expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga’s upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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