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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended its review timeline for proposed spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), tied to XRP and DOGE.
After temporarily halting decisions originally slated for May 21 and 22, the Commission is now seeking public comments on them.
Ruling on XRP, DOGE ETFs
The delay affects the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, Grayscale XRP Trust, and Grayscale Dogecoin Trust. All three aim to offer investors exposure to their respective digital assets via ETF shares backed exclusively by XRP or DOGE, with index tracking and custodial services provided by industry-standard partners such as Coinbase Custody and CoinDesk Indices.
While the SEC has stated that this move does not suggest a leaning toward approval or denial, it is calling for public comments to assess better whether the proposals meet the standards of investor protection and market integrity outlined in the Exchange Act.
In the filings, the agency explained,
“Institution of proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change. The institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change.”
Besides, the agency also postponed a decision on Bitwise’s proposal to allow staking in its Ethereum ETF, continuing a trend of extended timelines as the SEC sifts through an increasing number of crypto-related filings.
ETF Delays Are Routine, Not Surprising
Industry observers, including Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, weighed in on the SEC’s latest delay and noted that such extensions are routine. According to Seyffart, while several XRP-related products have upcoming review dates, early approvals are unlikely.
He added that the securities watchdog typically uses the full allotted time to evaluate 19b-4 filings, making October the more realistic window for final decisions. Seyffart also said that any approvals before late June or early July would be considered unusual, regardless of the SEC’s current stance toward crypto. In his view, early action, not delays, would be the real deviation from standard regulatory procedure.
Seyffart even went on to say that Litecoin ETF has a “higher likelihood” of getting approved first before all the other crypto ETFs.
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