SEC’s Wild Ride: ETFs May Launch Faster Than a Russian Novel’s Plot Twist! 🚀📈

Markets

What to know:

  • The SEC, in a move as sudden as a summer storm in the Russian steppe, has asked issuers to withdraw their 19b-4 filings. 🌩️
  • A rule change, as subtle as a bear in a ballet, allows exchanges to list certain commodity-based crypto ETFs without additional scrutiny. 🐻💃
  • Several ETF applications may now be approved faster than a nobleman can lose his fortune in a Turgenev novel. 🏰💨

Ah, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that bastion of bureaucratic whimsy, has graciously requested that crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers retract their 19b-4 filings. This, dear reader, is said to clear the path for approvals swifter than a young man’s infatuation with a provincial beauty. A source, as reliable as a Turgenev narrator, whispered this to CoinDesk.

Earlier this month, the SEC, in a fit of regulatory largesse, approved generic listing standards. These standards, like a well-timed epiphany, permit exchanges to list commodity-based exchange-traded products (ETPs), including those tied to the enigmatic world of cryptocurrencies, sans the tedious ritual of individual reviews. Such changes, one presumes, are meant to ease the burdens of launching spot crypto ETFs, though whether they will is as uncertain as a hunter’s aim in a dense forest. 🌲🔍

In days of yore, issuers were compelled to collaborate with exchanges to submit 19b-4 filings-a process as cumbersome as a peasant’s cart on a muddy road. But lo! The updated framework has swept away this requirement for certain products. Now, issuers need only file an S-1, a document as detailed as a Russian family’s genealogy, to secure the SEC’s blessing. 📜✨

“The SEC can move absurdly fast if they truly wish it,” remarked Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart, with a tone as dry as a Moscow winter. “We might see approvals in days, though certainty is as rare as a virtuous character in a Dostoevsky novel. And yet, they still delay Bitwise’s BITW conversion, perhaps due to their peculiar ‘first to file’ doctrine. Will they allow launches in waves, or will it be a chaotic sprint? Only time-and the SEC’s whims-will tell.” ⏳🤷‍♂️

In recent months, asset managers have filed a veritable deluge of spot crypto ETF proposals, covering coins as varied as the characters in *Fathers and Sons*. These proposals, alas, included both 19b-4 and S-1 filings, a relic of the old, two-part process. But now, with the 19b-4 forms cast aside like a forgotten love letter, approvals may accelerate with the fervor of a revolutionary’s speech. 🏛️🔥

The elimination of the 19b-4 route, which once required exchanges like Nasdaq or NYSE Arca to petition the SEC for rule changes-a process as slow as a tortoise in a snowstorm-is a boon. Now, exchanges may list crypto-based ETFs within the generic commodity ETP category without such tedious formalities. The burden, alas, falls squarely on the S-1 filing, which remains under the SEC’s watchful eye. 👁️‍🗨️

How swiftly the SEC will act on these S-1s is as unclear as a foggy morning in St. Petersburg. Yet, this shift marks a turning point in the agency’s approach to crypto markets-potentially opening the floodgates for a myriad of digital asset funds, free from the shackles of regulatory delay. 🌊🔓

“Everything is uncertain,” Seyffart added, with a sigh as heavy as a Russian novel’s theme. “Add the specter of a government shutdown, and matters could grow as chaotic as a bazaar on market day.” 🏛️💼

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2025-09-29 21:15