JPMorgan casts doubt on SEC approval for Solana and other crypto ETFs

Quick Take
- JPMorgan doesn’t foresee the SEC approving additional crypto ETFs following spot Ethereum ETFs.
- That’s unless U.S. policymakers pass legislation declaring most cryptocurrencies as non-securities, analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou told The Block.


JPMorgan is skeptical about the United States Securities and Exchange Commission approving Solana and other crypto exchange-traded funds now that Ethereum ETFs have been approved.
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, managing director and global market strategist at JPMorgan, told The Block that the investment bank doubts the SEC will approve such funds given its stance that most cryptocurrencies are securities.
"We doubt. The decision by the SEC to approve ETH ETFs is already stretched given the ambiguity about whether Ethereum should be classified as security or not. We don't think the SEC would go even further by approving Solana or other token ETFs given the SEC has stronger (relative to Ethereum) opinion that tokens outside bitcoin and Ethereum should be classified as securities," Panigirtzoglou said.
Unless, of course, U.S. policymakers eventually pass legislation deeming that most cryptocurrencies are not securities, the SEC could approve other crypto ETFs, according to Panigirtzoglou. But currently, no such legislation exists, he said.
SEC approving spot Ethereum ETFs
Last week, the SEC abruptly approved spot Ethereum ETFs, with several analysts saying it was a politically motivated decision as the SEC only re-engaged with stakeholders at the last minute, following months of stalled conversations.
The SEC approved 19b-4 forms of eight spot Ethereum ETF applicants — Grayscale, Bitwise, BlackRock, VanEck, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, Fidelity and Franklin — all in one omnibus order on May 23. S-1 registrations of those ETFs are still pending SEC sign-off so that the funds can begin trading. Several analysts expect trading to start in the coming weeks.
While JPMorgan isn't too optimistic about the SEC approving other crypto ETFs, some other analysts have said the recent clearance of spot Ethereum ETFs means the market could see more crypto ETFs tied to other cryptocurrencies and tokens.
Last week, Standard Chartered Bank's Geoffrey Kendrick said he expects the approval of Solana and XRP ETFs in 2025. TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg said the market could see more crypto ETFs, including an ETF offering with a "basket of crypto tokens," within a year.
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