The battle for altcoin ETFs has begun. Who will be approved first?

Analysts speculate that Litecoin ETFs have the highest probability of being listed before the end of this year (90%), higher than Dogecoin (75%), Solana (70%) and XRP products (65%), but the final result still depends on the confirmation of the new helmsman and his policy direction.

The approval of US Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs last year is just the beginning: major issuers are planning to launch more types of US funds aimed at directly tracking the prices of multiple cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin, Solana, XRP, and even TRUMP coins.

Recently, traditional financial giant Franklin Templeton submitted a proposal for an XRP spot ETF, which is undoubtedly an important signal in the field of cryptocurrency ETFs. Although cryptocurrency native institutions such as Grayscale, Bitwise, and WisdomTree have previously submitted similar applications, Franklin Templeton's entry marks the beginning of the formal entry of traditional financial giants into this emerging field.

Franklin Templeton is an asset management giant that manages about $1.5 trillion in assets. Although it is not as important as BlackRock, its entry is still influential. In contrast, BlackRock has not yet joined the competition for altcoin ETFs.

Roger Bayston, head of quantitative investment solutions at Franklin Templeton, said in December last year that the ETF legal team will be extremely busy in the first half of 2025. The company launched a cryptocurrency index fund last month (currently limited to holding BTC and ETH) and has applied for the Solana ETF.

The following is a list of cryptocurrency ETF products that may be launched in the United States.

Solana ETF

The spot Solana trading platform exchange-traded fund (ETF) may be a potential alternative to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

The proposed funds include VanEck Solana Trust, 21Shares Core Solana ETF, Canary Solana ETF and Bitwise Solana ETF, which will directly track the price of Solana.

Franklin Templeton filed an S-1 registration statement in February, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) filed a listing rule change application on behalf of Franklin Templeton in March.

In addition, some proposed Solana futures ETFs, such as the ProShares Short Solana, ProShares 2x Solana, and Vol Shares Solana ETFs, will allow investors to make more complex bets on Solana's price movements.

However, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said that spot and futures Solana ETFs may not begin trading in the United States until 2026 because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) still needs to evaluate a batch of spot Solana ETF applications. The SEC admitted Grayscale's Solana ETF application on February 6 and is seeking public comments on the application, which one analyst said marked the agency's entry into "new territory."

The SEC typically takes 240 to 260 days to make a decision, but the litigation over whether Solana is a security could prolong the process. Still, if the spot Solana ETF is approved, the investment funds it attracts could be huge. JPMorgan analysts predict that the Solana ETF could bring in $4 billion to $8 billion in investment.

Dogecoin ETF

Some issuers have said they plan to launch spot Dogecoin ETFs.

Rex Shares applied to launch the Rex-Osprey DOGE ETF in January, while Bitwise Asset Management also registered a Dogecoin ETF entity in Delaware. In addition, cryptocurrency investment company Grayscale also plans to launch a Dogecoin ETF and launched the Dogecoin Trust Fund in late January, and then submitted an application to convert it into an ETF.

The SEC admitted Grayscale's application in February, but delayed its decision in March, extending the final decision deadline to May 21.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said in January that a spot Dogecoin ETF could theoretically launch as early as April, depending on a rule that enables federal regulators to weigh investment product proposals in a quick 75-day timeframe, rather than the typical eight- to nine-month review period.

XRP ETF

Funds around Ripple-related XRP, such as the Rex-Osprey XRP ETF, the Canary XRP ETF and the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, are under review.

In early February, Chicago-based Cboe trading platform applied to federal regulators to list and trade four spot XRP ETFs, showing growing investor interest in funds tracking Ripple Labs’ crypto assets. Franklin Templeton also joined the ranks in March.

The SEC acknowledged multiple XRP ETF applications in late February and said it would submit comments within 21 days. If XRP ETFs are approved, JPMorgan analysts expect these funds could bring in $3 billion to $6 billion in investments.

In addition, XRP futures ETFs such as ProShares Short XRP and ProShares 2x XRP are also under consideration, with the former allowing investors to short XRP and the latter enabling investors to make leveraged bets on XRP's future price movements.

Bitcoin Plus ETF

Trump Media and Technology Group's Truth.Fi has applied to register trademarks for two "Bitcoin Plus" products, Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF and Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus SMA. It is not yet clear what assets these ETFs will hold.

Cryptocurrency Index ETF

Franklin Templeton filed an amended application in early February to launch the "Franklin Cryptocurrency Index ETF." The ETF will track the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum, with weights of 86.31% and 13.69%, respectively, and may include other cryptocurrencies in the future.

Aptos ETF

Bitwise, a cryptocurrency asset manager, filed an S-1 with the Securities Commission in early March to launch an ETF that tracks the price of Aptos (APT).

Sui ETF

Canary Capital filed a Delaware trust application in early March to launch an ETF based on Sui.

Movement ETF

Rex Shares and Osprey Funds filed applications in early March to launch an ETF that tracks the Movement Network’s native token MOVE.

HBAR ETF

Canary Capital filed its first HBAR ETF application in November last year. HBAR is the native cryptocurrency of the Hedera network.

Litecoin ETF

A series of Litecoin ETF applications were filed after Trump’s inauguration. CoinShares filed two registration statements, one for the "CoinShares Litecoin ETF" and one for the "CoinShares XRP ETF," and the New York Stock Exchange also said Grayscale is trying to convert its existing Litecoin Trust into an ETF.

The new application comes about two months after Canary Capital filed its Litecoin ETF application and a few days after Canary filed an amendment to its fund application.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas believes that similar to the spot HBAR ETF, Canary Capital's Litecoin ETF may be approved earlier than funds based on Dogecoin, XRP and Solana because Litecoin's regulatory status is not as controversial as other coins such as Solana.

BONK, TRUMP ETFs

Rex Shares filed an application with federal regulators in January, planning to launch spot TRUMP and BONK coin ETFs.

Summary

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Seyffart pointed out that the SEC is unlikely to make a decision on these applications until Paul Atkins, the SEC chairman nominated by Trump, is confirmed by Congress, and Atkins' confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled. In addition, the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs took several years. The SEC previously used the maturity of the futures market of related assets as an important approval standard, and none of the ETF applications currently under review meet this standard.

Nevertheless, analysts speculate that Litecoin ETFs have the highest probability of listing before the end of this year (90%), higher than Dogecoin (75%), Solana (70%) and XRP products (65%), but the final result still depends on the confirmation of the new helmsman and his policy direction.

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