JPMorgan is uncertain about whether the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve Solana and other crypto exchange-traded funds, especially now that Ethereum ETFs have received approval.
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, managing director and global market strategist at JPMorgan, shared with The Block that the investment bank has reservations about the SEC granting approval to such funds. This skepticism stems from the SEC’s position that most cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities.
“We have doubts. The SEC’s decision to approve ETH ETFs is already a stretch, considering the uncertainty surrounding whether Ethereum should be deemed a security or not. We don’t anticipate the SEC going further to approve Solana or other token ETFs, given their stronger stance, relative to Ethereum, that tokens beyond bitcoin and Ethereum should be classified as securities,” explained Panigirtzoglou.
Panigirtzoglou suggested that unless U.S. policymakers enact legislation asserting that most cryptocurrencies are not securities, the SEC may consider approving other crypto ETFs. However, as of now, no such legislation exists.
The SEC’s recent approval of Ethereum ETFs has ignited discussions. Some analysts view it as a politically influenced decision, as the SEC only resumed engagement with stakeholders at the eleventh hour after months of stalled conversations.
The SEC granted 19b-4 forms for eight spot Ethereum ETF applicants—Grayscale, Bitwise, BlackRock, VanEck, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, Fidelity, and Franklin—in a single omnibus order on May 23. The S-1 registrations for these ETFs are awaiting SEC approval to commence trading, which analysts predict will happen in the coming weeks.
While JPMorgan remains cautious about the SEC’s stance on approving other crypto ETFs, some analysts suggest that the recent clearance of spot Ethereum ETFs could pave the way for more crypto ETFs linked to various cryptocurrencies and tokens.
Geoffrey Kendrick of Standard Chartered Bank anticipates the approval of Solana and XRP ETFs by 2025. Meanwhile, Jaret Seiberg of TD Cowen believes the market could witness the introduction of more crypto ETFs, including offerings with a “basket of crypto tokens,” within a year.
