Several companies are now looking at launching exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track smaller cryptocurrencies including Ripple’s XRP and Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), beyond which has already been delivered. But the success of these efforts may hang by American voters and the upcoming presidential election.
Over the same time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made progress in approving the first-ever spot in Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. Investors using these funds can get direct exposure to these leading cryptocurrencies without needing to hold them directly.
It was a watershed moment for many in the financial world, after years of regulatory battling culminating in Grayscale’s legal win over the SEC to approve a similar product. Since approval, billions of dollars have flowed into these newly approved ETFs.
Crypto ETFs Beyond Bitcoin Face Hurdles If Harris Wins
The cryptocurrency community is now eyeing the next big thing: ETFs that would track smaller coins like XRP, which is behind Solana, are coming. CPIUMarket has already received a number of applications from several prospective issuers. While the path forward for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs has been cleared, the fate of XRP and SOL ETFs is up in the air, for the most part, because of the political climate.
Industry insiders indicate that it could be the U.S. presidential election outcome that either makes or breaks the fortunes of these ETF applications. Should she win the election, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is expected to take a far more cautious approach to approving new cryptocurrency-related financial products.
Among those predicting that if a Harris administration approves further crypto ETFs, those would likely get stalled is Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Balchunas noted that it “won’t matter” for potential ETF launches beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum if Harris wins.
This reading of a more cautious regulatory stance from the current Biden administration about cryptocurrency is in keeping with a more combative stance from the broader regulatory effort of the administration itself. Similar sentiments were echoed by Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, who said a Harris-led government would likely continue the status quo, where cryptocurrency exchanges and services have faced heavy scrutiny.
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Trump Victory Increases Likelihood Of XRP And SOL ETF Approvals
Given how President Biden’s administration has handled crypto, Geraci said it’s reasonable to assume that it would carry over to a Kamala Harris administration. But looking at the politics of it, “it seems totally unlikely that a Harris administration would allow any additional spot crypto ETFs anytime soon after the election.”
Harris has otherwise been relatively silent on her stance on crypto, but her campaign recently revealed a plan to develop regulations for digital assets. In her plan, she singled out Black men, which her campaign had targeted as a demographic more prone to owning cryptocurrency. But the specifics of this framework are not clear, and left many in the sector confused as to how much support she would provide.
However, former President Donald Trump has been especially vocal and supportive of the cryptocurrency industry. Trump’s campaign has embraced the crypto community, including stars in the space, and Trump himself has attended numerous crypto-related events, demonstrating a more open attitude toward the sector. Recently he has come out in support of a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform and went to visit a Bitcoin bar in New York.
This therefore guarantees that many will feel that a Trump victory will advance the likelihood of approvals for additional crypto ETFs, in particular, for lesser tokens such as XRP and SOL. A Trump administration would give issuers like BlackRock, Bitwise, and VanEck a “decent chance” to get crypto ETFs past Bitcoin and Ethereum, Balchunas said.
The speculation has only been fanned by Trump’s growing support among the crypto community and his climbing odds in the election according to prediction market Polymarket, which says Trump is now 62.4 percent likely to win. If Trump returns to the White House, crypto ETF approvals could not likely be far behind.
Conclusion
The upcoming U.S. election could determine the future of cryptocurrency ETFs based on tracking smaller coins like XRP and SOL. Until November’s outcome, in which Kamala Harris is likely to maintain a cautious approach to regulation and Donald Trump embraces a more friendly one, the fate of these funds remains murky.
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