Which altcoins besides ETH could be included in an ETF?

After Ether ETF was finally approved by the SEC, experts and crypto enthusiasts are making speculations on what crypto will be included in an ETF next. Here are some ideas about the possible candidates.

Solana (SOL)

As the cryptocurrency market looks beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, discussions are turning to potential ETFs for other altcoins. Solana (SOL) has emerged as a leading candidate in these conversations. Many believe a Solana ETF could generate significant interest, potentially more than other altcoin ETFs aside from Ethereum.

However, the path to a Solana ETF faces a significant hurdle. Unlike Ethereum, whose legal status has been a topic of discussion with the SEC, Solana's situation is more complex. The SEC has explicitly labeled Solana as a security in lawsuits against major cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken.

This classification could complicate the approval process for Solana ETFs. The SEC's stance may lead to a more challenging and uncertain road ahead for any potential Solana ETF applications.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is built on peer-reviewed research, earning it the reputation of being the "Linux of crypto." Despite lacking flashy marketing, the blockchain stands on solid foundations, offering a stable, secure, and lightweight network capable of supporting a decentralized world. Its monetary policy follows a traditional disinflationary approach, adding to its appeal.

Cardano's innovative Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol, Ouroboros, combines extended Unspent Transaction Outputs (eUTxO) with Nakamoto consensus, creating a system that resembles a programmable PoS version of Bitcoin. This design offers several advantages, including enhanced resilience, improved security, and better scalability through local state accounting and parallelization.

These features make Cardano an attractive option for institutional investors focused on long-term potential rather than short-term gains. This is one of the main pre-requisites to be included in an ETF.

When will be the next crypto ETF approved?

It's very unlikely that we'll see ETFs for cryptocurrencies other than Ethereum approved anytime soon. This is because Bitcoin and Ethereum have some unique advantages:

1. They're the only cryptocurrencies with regulated futures markets in the U.S.
2. They're the only ones with futures-based ETFs in the U.S.

Many other popular cryptocurrencies face a big problem: the SEC has named them as securities in lawsuits. It wouldn't make sense for the SEC to approve ETFs for these assets without first requiring them to register as securities. However, there's currently no way for cryptocurrencies to do this.

The SEC will probably use the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF approvals to set careful rules. This way, they can still decide which crypto ETFs to allow in the future.

In short, no cryptocurrency besides Ethereum has a clear path to ETF approval right now. We probably won't see any other crypto ETFs in 2024. Unless another cryptocurrency takes the SEC to court, it's unlikely we'll see any in 2025 either.