October was supposed to be the month when the long-awaited crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally hit the US markets. Deadlines for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve or reject several Crypto ETF applications are lined up throughout the month. But when the US government shut down, the process froze — and deadlines stopped.
Now November can take the place of October. Many issuers use a procedural route that does not require an active SEC sign-off. It is the same strategy that allowed four crypto ETFs – two from Canary Capital, one from bitwise and one from grayscale – To start trading earlier this week despite regulatory paralysis.
The issuers filed updated S-1 registration statements that included the “no delay amendment” language. Under US Securities law, those filings automatically become effective after 20 days unless the SEC moves to issue a stay or request amendments. For the four ETFs listed this week, the SEC took no action, allowing them to survive the default.
That success sparked a wave of new filings. On Thursday, Fidelity submitted an updated S-1 for the spot Solana ETF, and Canary Capital did the same for the XRP ETF. If the SEC continues to follow its current track and does not block the process, the market will see the first XRP fund as soon as November 13.
However, there are limits to how far this workaround can go. While the SEC has reviewed filings tied to Solana, HBAR and the Litecoin ETF, it has not been involved in XRP’s application – a gap that could prompt the agency to stop its automatic approval.
“I think it’s possible we’ll see a bunch of fund launches next month. And that could be true whether the government opens up or not. But there are funds with filings that haven’t received any comment from the SEC on their S-1s (prospectus) and I’m not sure they can launch without the SEC getting back to work,” said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomber Intelligence. “So yes a bunch are likely to be launched next month but there are some that are unlikely to be launched without the government opening up.”
For investors, the shift marks a new phase in the years-long effort to bring crypto ETFs to US markets. Instead of waiting for the SEC’s formal blessing, issuers use procedural mechanics to move forward. Whether that momentum carries through to November may be less about market readiness — and more about whether the government gets back to work.
