Following the budget crisis in the US, the budget bill failed to receive approval and the US government officially shut down.
While the government shutdown is expected to have an impact on Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market as well as financial markets, it is also stated that it will delay altcoin ETF decisions.
At this point, the impact of the shutdown will likely result in many employees being furloughed, and this will negatively impact the SEC. Like many government agencies, the SEC will furlough many employees and continue operating with a limited staff.
This could delay decisions on altcoin ETFs awaiting approval.
“If the government shuts down, nothing will get approved,” Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan told Blockworks.
Speaking to Blockworks, a person familiar with the matter, whose name was not disclosed, said that decisions on the pending altcoin ETFs will most likely not be announced during the US government shutdown, and that approval is very unlikely.
A person familiar with the matter said it’s very clear how the government will handle the SEC during a shutdown. The SEC’s Trading and Markets Regulations state, “If the government shuts down, the SEC will not be able to review pending applications, evaluate new or pending applications or registrations, issue interpretative recommendations, or issue no-action letters.”
Fireblocks chief legal officer Jason Allegrante said in a statement that the government shutdown could delay the approval date for new crypto ETFs, but that the delay would be temporary.
As you may recall, the SEC requested spot ETF issuers for Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE) to withdraw their existing 19b-4 applications a few days ago.
The SEC’s request was met with immediate response, and 19b-4 filings for eight altcoin ETFs, including XRP and Solana, were withdrawn.
According to information on the SEC’s website, ETF issuers Solana withdrew their 19b-4 filings for XRP, Cardano, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Polkadot (DOT), Hedera (HBAR), and Ethereum (ETH) Staking ETFs in accordance with general listing standards.
*This is not investment advice.