Compass Investments

– Expectations for a grand October launch of spot cryptocurrency exchange traded funds (ETFs) hit a major roadblock as altcoins, including XRP, are stuck in a regulatory vacuum.

The delay is due to a combination of procedural reforms at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

In the days before the shutdown, the SEC agreed to harmonized listing criteria, eliminating the need to file Form 19b-4 on a case-by-case basis.

As a result, exchanges were instructed to withdraw existing filings under the old scheme, paving the way for a more efficient mechanism that will speed up the approval process once operations resume.

Since a large portion of the SEC’s staff is retiring, the agency is now only dealing with fraud investigations and emergency matters, while routine but important procedures such as obtaining approvals from the Division of Corporation Finance are stagnant.

Without that consent, spot ETFs tied to XRP, Solana and Litecoin cannot be launched, regardless of the new regulations.

The delay is painful for investors who saw October as a breakthrough month, as altcoin ETFs were expected to boost demand and legalize digital assets.

It’s worth noting that U.S. investors already have access to the XRP-ETF through REX-Osprey, which received expedited approval under the Investment Company Act of 1940, reducing the review period to 75 days instead of the 240 days required by the Securities Act of 1933.

Overall, the setback came amid a resurgence of bullish momentum in the broad cryptocurrency market led by bitcoin, with many investors already reacting to the Washington shutdown.

At the time of publication, XRP was worth around $3 after a slight 1.8% pullback over the past 24 hours. On the weekly chart, the token continues to grow by almost 10% .

Analysts believe that the approval of a spot ETF could trigger significant inflows of institutional capital, with some predicting the price to rise to $10.

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