Bloomberg ETF Analysts: 95% Chance of Major Altcoin ETF Approvals by Year-End
Bloomberg’s top ETF analysts predict near certainty that several major altcoin spot ETFs, including for Dogecoin, Solana, XRP, and Litecoin, could gain SEC approval before the end of 2025. The developments would mark a significant expansion beyond the existing Bitcoin and Ethereum categories.
Wall Street analysts at Bloomberg maintain a virtual certainty that numerous alternative cryptocurrency spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs)—including Dogecoin, Solana, and XRP—will receive approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the end of 2025 or potentially earlier.
According to Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, the likelihood of these major altcoin ETF approvals stands at approximately 95%. Individual altcoin ETF applications, including those for Litecoin and Cardano, are assessed to have a 90% chance of receiving SEC approval before the year concludes.
The approval of these funds, if forthcoming, marks a watershed moment. To date, the SEC has only authorized Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, managing roughly $130 billion in assets under management, according to Bloomberg data.
“The success of those funds has spurred additional demand for crypto-focused ETFs and other related investment products,” Seyffart noted.
These potential approvals come despite the inherent higher risk-reward calculation compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum. For instance:
- Dogecoin, the world’s first meme coin, remains focused almost solely on online community enthusiasm.
- Avalanche is the native token of a network that commands roughly 2% of the total value locked on Ethereum.
- The market capitalization of Polkadot ($5.2 billion) significantly trails that of Ethereum ($293 billion), which in turn is a fraction of Bitcoin’s valuation ($2.06 trillion).
Unlike futures-based products, which track derivative contracts rather than the underlying asset, spot ETFs require the issuer to actually buy, store, and hold the cryptocurrency on behalf of investors.
The assessment points to significant SEC engagement regarding the application filings submitted by various financial institutions, a move interpreted as a positive development. “The [SEC’s] engagement in commenting and requesting updated details and public comments signals an openness to consider diverse crypto-asset proposals,” Seyffart added.
Coinciding with these spot application reviews, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved futures markets for several altcoins, including the ones targeted by the ETF issuers.
While acknowledging the upcoming significant expansion beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum into the altcoin space, Seyffart tempered expectations slightly on timing, noting that approving applications could occur as soon as next month or possibly not until the late fall—but consistently adding, “at this point, the question is a ‘matter of when not if.'” The analyst emphasized that “we are not focusing on a specific timeframe at this moment[.]”
The broader implications are substantial, as seen with Bitcoin spot ETFs driving its price more than two-and-a-half times higher following their launch.
“Altcoin spot ETFs may replicate this dynamic,” observed Brian Rudick, chief strategy officer at Solana-focused treasury company Upexi. “While demand for ETFs on long-tail alts may not materialize, top assets like Solana will likely see strong inflows, acting as a large positive catalyst for the token price.”
Industry figures echo this near certainty, with Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, stating the outsize approval for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs upon President Donald Trump’s reelection last fall as proof that “The Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs will prove to have been merely the first.” Edelman anticipates thousands of future ETFs or their tokenized equivalents once broader altcoins become standardized.
