Grayscale & CoinShares File for Litecoin & XRP Crypto ETFs

Grayscale Investments and CoinShares filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for various new cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These proposed ETFs would include assets such as Litecoin (LTC), Solana (SOL), and XRP and aim to create a regulated investment opportunity in the digital asset market.

Following its existing line of crypto-centric products, Grayscale has also filed for ETFs tracking Solana and Litecoin. An example would be with a Litecoin ETF, where investors can hedge their portfolios against the price of LTC without owning the asset. 

Grayscale also  filed to convert its Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) into a spot Solana ETF, which has been under review by the SEC. 

The SEC was expected to respond to the latest filing by January 23, but it has thus far taken no action, suggesting that it is extending the review process. Reporting indicated that Grayscale’s new filing comes in response to previous regulators’ concerns, which both included compliance measures and asset custody details, in a move that according to experts would result in greater chances for approval for the proposal.

Meanwhile, CoinShares is jumping in with Litecoin and XRP ETF filings. An XRP ETF would allow investors to speculate on the price of XRP without facing the complexities of individually holding an asset. This puts CoinShares in the expanding pool of asset managers seeking XRP ETFs along with Bitwise, ProShares, WisdomTree, and REX Shares.

The wave of applications for crypto-based ETFs has arrived after a major shift in U.S. crypto policy under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has been characterized as increasingly favorable to crypto. The Interim Chair Mark Uyeda has since taken over the SEC and a crypto task force has been set up under him with a focus on reducing the complexity of regulation of digital assets. 

Last year marked a turning point with the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and the current administration’s open-mindedness to crypto has sparked optimism for additional ETF approvals.