The race to bring more crypto assets to the stock market as ETFs may leave most stuck on the sidelines, Galaxy Digital found.
Efforts to speed up crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals in the United States may actually sideline most tokens in the foreseeable future, Galaxy Digital’s research associate Lucas Tcheyan revealed in a recent report. The new research estimates that only 12 of the top 100 assets by market capitalization beyond BTC and ETH would make the cut.
In late July, Cboe’s BZX Exchange, Nasdaq, and NYSE Arca all filed 19b-4 forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to propose listing standards for crypto ETFs that would replace today’s case-by-case system.
The applications come as the SEC faces a pileup of 91 pending crypto ETF requests covering 24 tokens and several index products, per Galaxy’s report. And while the agency’s final possible deadline for a verdict is March 27, 2026, Tcheyan thinks the call will likely come earlier, due to a “friendlier SEC attitude toward crypto.”
Short List
For now, only 10 tokens qualify under the fast-track criteria: Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Chainlink (LINK), Stellar (XLM), Avalanche (AVAX), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL), and Hedera (HBAR), according to the Galaxy Digital report.
Cardano (ADA) and XRP are also expected to join them in September and October respectively, once the two assets pass the required six months of regulated futures trading, Tcheyan writes.
“We view these as more likely to see ETF launches given their qualification under the proposed fast-track rule, and very likely if the rule is accepted,” Tcheyan wrote, referring to the above assets.
Of those, nine tokens already have ETF applications on file, making them front-runners if the rule is adopted. Tcheyan says XRP and SOL could also squeak in through another path as each already has futures-based ETFs with “no less than 40% of their NAV” tied to the underlying token.
Why Only 12 Tokens?
The fast-track process hinges on three conditions: tokens must trade on a monitored exchange through the Intermarket Surveillance Group (ISG), have a six-month history of regulated futures trading, or be backed by a futures ETF holding at least 40% of the asset.
As of press time, no crypto asset beyond BTC and ETH meets the first condition because no spot crypto markets are ISG members. While Coinbase’s derivatives exchange is part of the group, it only covers futures rather than spot trading, Tcheyan explains.
That could change if the CFTC’s new “Crypto Sprint” or the SEC’s “Project Crypto” open doors for regulated spot markets, though the timeframe remains unclear.
Tcheyan wrote in the report that the lack of regulated crypto ETFs “has not dampened demand for exposure,” but instead, has redirected capital “into alternatives such as digital asset treasury management firms, private trusts, and structured products.”
In late August, Geoffrey Kendrick, the global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, argued that Ethereum treasury companies are trading at attractive levels, adding they’re offering better value than U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs.
