SEC Clears Path for Faster Spot Crypto ETF Approvals in Major Policy Shift

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted new standards designed to accelerate the approval of spot crypto ETF listings. This decision could reshape the landscape for digital asset investment products.

Detailed in filings with the Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe BZX, the policy change allows exchanges to list qualifying spot crypto ETFs without requiring the SEC to review each application individually. The move relies on Rule 6c-11, which significantly reduces the lengthy approval timelines that have often stretched for months.

Generic Standards Aim to Streamline ETF Listings

SEC Chair Paul Atkins highlighted the potential of the new rules to foster innovation. “By approving these generic listing standards, we are ensuring that our capital markets remain the best place in the world to engage in the cutting-edge innovation of digital assets,” he said. 

“This approval helps to maximize investor choice and foster innovation by reducing barriers to access digital asset products within America’s trusted capital markets.”

The decision comes as applications for spot ETFs tied to Solana, XRP, Litecoin, and Dogecoin await formal approval. Other projects—including Avalanche, Chainlink, Polkadot, and BNB—are also in line, with initial deadlines approaching in October. Analysts say the streamlined process could lead to a surge of new crypto investment products in the coming weeks. 

Popular analyst James Seyffart called the development “the crypto ETP framework we’ve been waiting for,” predicting a wave of launches in the near term.

Eligibility and Oversight Requirements

Under the new standards, a spot crypto ETF can qualify for listing if it holds a commodity traded on a market that belongs to the Intermarket Surveillance Group and offers surveillance access, or if it underlies a futures contract listed on a designated contract market for at least six months with a surveillance-sharing agreement in place.

An alternative route allows eligibility if the asset is already tracked by an ETF—listed on a national securities exchange—with at least 40% exposure to the same commodity. Exchanges must still file a rule submission with the SEC if a product falls outside these generic criteria, ensuring a level of regulatory oversight remains in place.

Not all commissioners are convinced. SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw warned that the policy might open the door to insufficiently vetted products. “The Commission is passing the buck on reviewing these proposals and making the required investor protection findings, in favor of fast tracking these new and arguably unproven products to market,” she said.

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