US SEC Softens Stance, Crypto ETPs Set for Explosive Listings!

On September 17 local time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "accelerated approval" of the Generic Listing Standards for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), paving a fast track for these products to enter public issuance and trading.

1. Generic Listing Standards: From "Case-by-Case Approval" to "One-Click Listing"

Previously, the listing of crypto ETPs was a lengthy, expensive, and high-risk process. Issuers needed to submit a special application for each new asset, proving that its market had sufficient liquidity and was not susceptible to manipulation, with the SEC’s review period lasting up to 240 or even 270 days.

The impact of the Generic Listing Standards is revolutionary:

• Process Simplification and Acceleration: As long as ETPs meet certain requirements clearly stipulated by the SEC, their approval is almost guaranteed, and the process time is significantly shortened to 75 days or less. It also allows qualified crypto ETPs (exchange-traded products) to be listed and traded without the need for a 19b-4 form.

• Exchange Options: Most industry proposals suggest that the Generic Listing Standards should require the underlying asset to have futures contracts traded on a regulated U.S. futures exchange. Eligible exchanges include CME, Cboe, and possibly even Coinbase Derivatives Exchange and Bitnomial, among others.

• First Beneficiaries: The SEC has approved the exchange listing standards and quickly approved the trading of the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (mainly holding BTC, ETH, etc.).

2. Explosive Product Growth: History Repeats Itself

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan predicts that the Generic Listing Standards will trigger an explosive growth in the number of crypto ETPs, and historical experience supports this view:

• Precedent of Traditional ETFs: After the SEC established generic standards for stock and bond ETPs with the "ETF Rule" at the end of 2019, the pace of new ETF launches immediately more than tripled, soaring from an average of 117 per year to 370 per year.

• Crypto Market Expectations: The crypto ETP sector is also expected to see similar expansion. Altcoins that meet the futures contract requirements, such as Solana, XRP, Chainlink, Cardano, Avalanche, Polkadot, etc., will all see ETPs launched and attract a large number of traditional asset management firms into the field.

3. Dual Macro Benefits: The Overlap of Rate Cuts and the ETP Wave

The regulatory breakthrough for ETPs comes at a time of significant changes in the macroeconomic environment:

• Fed Shift: On the same day, the Federal Reserve announced a rate cut, with Powell calling it a "risk management rate cut," clearly stating that the labor market "does not need to be softened further." This marks a shift in Fed policy focus from controlling inflation to maintaining employment, and is expected to usher in a liquidity-rich rate-cutting cycle.

• Liquidity and Channels: The rate-cutting cycle will release more capital into risk assets, while the Generic Listing Standards for ETPs provide the most convenient channel for accessing this capital.

4. Impact on Crypto Asset Prices

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated in his report that the existence of ETPs does not guarantee capital inflows, but it prepares the asset for a "breakout."

1. Unlocking Traditional Capital: The vast majority of funds worldwide are controlled by traditional investors. With ETPs, these investors can easily allocate to crypto assets through brokerage accounts without dealing with complex wallets and private keys.

2. Reducing the "Mystique": ETPs transform cryptocurrencies from "strange tokens exclusive to geeks" into credible stock tickers. This lowers the threshold and fear for ordinary investors, making it easier to associate Chainlink with applications such as partnerships with Mastercard and stablecoins.

3. Capital Reservoir: ETPs are equivalent to building a huge capital reservoir for assets. Once the fundamentals of the asset (such as Solana activity, Ethereum ecosystem development) begin to improve, capital can flow in at an extremely fast pace and on a large scale, triggering rapid price increases.

In summary, with the removal of SEC regulatory barriers and the start of the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle, this "ETP Big Bang" will fully unleash suppressed crypto capital and innovation, accelerating the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.