If the U.S. authorities shuts down this week, a number of long-awaited cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — together with funds for and — could possibly be thrown into limbo simply as they close to the end line.
A number of asset managers have been in shut communication with the Securities and Change Fee (SEC) over the previous few months, revising their S-1 registration statements. These amended filings are sometimes interpreted as a sign that the regulator is working towards approval. However a federal shutdown would grind most of that work to a halt.
One individual acquainted with the method stated they imagine some approvals might nonetheless land as quickly as subsequent week — assuming the federal government stays open. Specifically, spot solana ETF purposes are considered shut, with a number of rounds of feedback from the SEC already addressed. Issuers are nonetheless anticipated to file their last S-1 kinds.
Including to the momentum, the SEC final week requested itemizing exchanges to withdraw their 19b-4 filings and re-submit beneath the Basic Itemizing Requirements — a procedural shift anticipated after these requirements had been permitted earlier this 12 months. That transfer additional hinted the company was making ready to greenlight new merchandise.
October is full of choice deadlines. Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF is due for a response by October 2. A number of different purposes face last deadlines between October 10 and 24 — dates that now danger slipping right into a holding sample if Congress fails to move a funding invoice earlier than midnight this Tuesday.
A shutdown would furlough a lot of the federal authorities, together with employees on the SEC. Whereas a skeleton crew would keep on to deal with “important” enterprise, it’s unclear whether or not crypto ETFs fall into that class. In previous shutdowns, regulatory critiques on monetary merchandise had been typically paused until deemed vital to market stability.
There’s additionally the likelihood that the SEC has already finalized a lot of the paperwork behind closed doorways. That would enable approvals to proceed earlier than the deadlines — and even throughout a shutdown — however that state of affairs stays speculative.
Within the meantime, issuers and exchanges are left to attend, watching the calendar and Capitol Hill with rising nervousness.
The ETF race — notably for spot crypto merchandise — has heated up in 2025 after the SEC’s shock approval of a number of spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024. Lots of the identical companies behind these merchandise are actually pushing for funds tied to various belongings like Solana and Litecoin, aiming to broaden the roster of regulated funding choices tied to crypto.
However for now, politics might have the ultimate say.
Correction (Sept. 30, 2025, 15:12 UTC): The federal government is because of shut down after Tuesday.
