The crypto industry is eagerly awaiting approvals on dozens of crypto ETFs from the Securities and Exchange Commission, but that eagerness does’t necessarily mean a speedy review of filings. “People have to be patient,” said SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce.
“There’s a lot going on” when it comes to reviews of those exchange-traded product filings, she said in an interview with Bloomberg’s “Trillions” podcast. Peirce leads the SEC’s crypto task force launched earlier this year and has garnered the nickname “Crypto Mom” thanks to her support of the digital asset.
Bloomberg reports that there are now more than 80 crypto-related ETP filings on the SEC’s desk. Those include requests for products that would track the price of altcoins like Solana and XRP, as well as meme coins like those associated with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
Peirce explained that the SEC has “a limited number of people” working on the crypto ETP filings.
“There are a lot of people who want things done [and] there’s a real need for patience,” she added. With every filing that comes in, the SEC has many considerations to take into account, such as if the filing meets the technical requirements laid out by the commission, and if there is any ongoing related litigation. There are a lot of factors that “could complicate things.”
Peirce added that in the agency’s collection of public input, it received a comment from one exchange that suggested the SEC consider generic listing standards on the ETP side.
“That is a request that really resonates with me,” she said. “There’s a lot of work to do, and we have to think about how to do it most efficiently.”
In January 2024, 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, such as iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), began trading in the U.S. following the SEC’s long-awaited green light. But the approval process that led up to that monumental day was “terribly mismanaged,” Peirce said.
It’s not the first time she’s criticized the process. At the time, she issued a statement saying that the SEC offered a “weak explanation for its change of heart” for its approval more than 10 years after the first spot Bitcoin ETP filing: “We have denied multiple applications over that period, depriving investors of the opportunity to gain exposure to Bitcoin in a more convenient and investor-friendly way … We squandered a decade of opportunities to do our job.”
The flurry of spot Bitcoin funds hitting the market was less common than the staggered launches we typically see. When asked which approach investors can expect with future crypto ETF approvals, Peirce explained that the priority is to encourage people to come in with “good filings and have good conversations with us and help us think through how we can prioritize getting through the work that we have.”
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