Grayscale's Litecoin and Solana Trust Filings Acknowledged by SEC, Opening Door to New Crypto ETFs

The crypto exchange-traded fund market, which has been dominated by Bitcoin and Ethereum, may soon become more crowded.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged filings for the Grayscale Litecoin Trust and Solana Trust, bringing two major altcoin-linked exchange-traded funds closer to approval.

The filings were submitted in late August and early September, respectively, and now the SEC has 45 days to decide whether to approve or deny the applications.

At the latest, a decision will be made by October 11, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart said in a note Thursday.

The move comes as the crypto ETF market, which has been dominated by Bitcoin and ether, is set to expand rapidly.

After Gensler stepped down as SEC chair and the Trump administration took over, analysts predicted an influx of crypto investment products.

And it seems that shift is already underway.

“Only six weeks ago, the Gensler-led SEC told Cboe to withdraw its Solana ETF application. So we are now in new territory,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said in a note Thursday.

However, there is still some legal uncertainty.

Solana is being categorized as a security by the SEC in lawsuits against major exchanges.

“The lawsuits and stuff from the division of enforcement need to be cleared before they can approve a Solana ETF,” Seyffart said.

Despite this, there is strong demand for Solana ETFs, with JPMorgan predicting inflows of $3 billion to $6 billion.

But the bank’s analysts expect Solana and other altcoins to trail ether and Bitcoin in adoption.

“They will match if not fall below Ethereum ETF expectations given their altcoin status,” JPMorgan researchers wrote in a note last month.

In the US, ether ETFs have underperformed their Bitcoin counterparts since being approved last year.

Bitcoin has racked up total inflows of about $41 billion, while ether funds have only managed about $3.2 billion.

Along with its Solana Trust, Grayscale has also filed for a Litecoin Trust.

Canary Capital has proposed a Litecoin ETF, which some predict will beat out Solana to become the first altcoin ETF approved under the Trump administration.

Unlike Solana, Litecoin hasn’t been labeled a security, which could make regulatory approval more straightforward.

“Litecoin ETFs now have all the boxes checked,” Balchunas said. “With a new SEC sheriff in town, this could be the first altcoin ETF to hit the market.”

But some analysts say that Litecoin’s lack of a regulated futures market may complicate its approval.

Historically, the SEC has prioritized ETFs tied to assets with well-developed CME-listed futures markets.