Wave of ETF filings proposes Litecoin ETF, XRP and Solana leveraged funds, and more
2025-01-19
Category: None

Asset managers such as VanEck and ProShares submitted a flurry of crypto ETF filings in recent days, proposing funds that would trade tokens such as Litecoin, XRP, and Solana, as President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday grows nearer. 
Some expect a Solana ETF to launch by the end of 2025; should that happen, it's likely that the proposed leveraged and inverse funds would also be approved, if the process plays out similarly to Bitcoin and Ethereum's approvals. Several proposed funds would trade XRP, which recently broke its all-time high price, while Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas predicted that a Litecoin ETF will be the next approved spot crypto fund. 
The recent spate of new ETF filings began on Wednesday with VanEck's proposal for an actively-managed "Onchain Economy ETF" which, rather than investing directly in digital assets, would invest "at least 80% of its net assets in digital transformation companies and/or digital asset instruments," according to VanEck's filing. 
Then, on Thursday, came Canary Capital's amended filing for a spot Litecoin ETF. Nasdaq submitted a 19b-4 form on behalf of the asset manager; once the essential form is received by the SEC alongside the S-1 filing, the agency's approval process begins. Balchunas, who predicted that a Litecoin ETF will be the next approved crypto ETF, said the incoming SEC chair remains a "huge variable" in the approval process. 
Next, CoinShares Valkyrie proposed a Digital Asset ETF that would follow its COINTEN index of the top 10 digital assets (with each token's weight capped at 35%) by investing "in the securities of investment vehicles that offer exposure" to those tokens. While in theory the fund could hold up to ten assets, the fund will only invest in exchange-traded products listed on major U.S., Canadian and E.U. exchanges that meet certain liquidity requirements; the filing specifically mentions Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP as possible tokens for inclusion. 
Oasis Capital proposed an actively-managed Digital Asset Debt Strategy ETF which seeks to invest at least 80% of its assets in convertible bonds of companies involved in the digital asset space, from mining firms to payment infrastructure providers. In other words, companies "who derive most of their revenue from digital asset-related activities, issuers whose primary business is holding digital assets in their corporate treasury or issuers that are acknowledged leaders in a particular digital asset-related activity," the filing states. 
The final batch of filings came from ProShares, which filed for leveraged, futures, and inverse ETFs for both Solana and XRP. ProShares had filed for similar funds tracking Bitcoin's price just days after spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading, and launched the first short ether futures ETF in November of 2023. 
On Friday, ProShares filed for an XRP futures ETF, then in a separate filing proposed an Ultra XRP ETF (2x leverage), a Short XRP ETF, and an Ultra Short XRP ETF (-2x leverage). Similar filings followed for a Solana futures ETF and Ultra, Short, an Ultra Short funds for the token as well. Solana recently achieved a new all-time high price, bolstered by the success of President-elect Trump's memecoin. 
"Regulatory winds shifting," The ETF Store president Nate Geraci wrote in a post on X referencing the filings. "Told you 2025 would be wild," he remarked in another. 
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.