More than 70 cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slated for review by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this year. According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, the list includes proposed ETFs holding a range of assets, from altcoins to memecoins to derivatives instruments.

“Everything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between,” Balchunas said in an April 21 post on the X platform. “Gonna be a wild year.”

Crypto ETFs’ SEC review schedule. Source: Eric Balchunas/Bloomberg

Related: ARK adds staked Solana to two tech ETFs

Uncertain institutional demand

The planned funds listings come as institutional investors turn increasingly bullish on crypto as an asset class. 

Upward of 80% of institutions say they plan to increase allocations to crypto in 2025, according to a March report by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon. 

However, analysts caution that just because ETFs are approved for US listings doesn’t guarantee widespread adoption, especially for funds holding more obscure alternative cryptocurrencies.

“Having your coin get ETF-ized is like being in a band and getting your songs added to all the music streaming services,” Balchunas said. 

“Doesn’t guarantee listens but it puts your music where the vast majority of the listeners are.”

Comparing asset manager Grayscale’s net assets pre-ETF launch across different cryptocurrencies suggests tepid demand for altcoin ETFs. Source: Sygnum Bank

Sygnum Bank’s research head, Katalin Tischhauser, told Cointelegraph she expects altcoin ETFs to see cumulative inflows of several hundred million to $1 billion, far less than spot Bitcoin funds. 

Funds holding Bitcoin (BTC) — the first spot cryptocurrency approved for listing in a US ETF wrapper — attracted upward of $100 billion in net assets last year. 

However, ETFs using options and other derivatives to provide structured exposure to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether might see more institutional uptake, analysts said. 

Options on spot cryptocurrencies unlock numerous potential portfolio strategies for investors and could potentially catalyze “explosive” price upside for digital assets such as Bitcoin, Jeff Park, Bitwise Invest’s head of alpha strategies, said in September.

Options are contracts granting the right to buy or sell an underlying asset at a certain price.

On April 21, ARK Invest added exposure to staked Solana (SOL) to two of its existing ETFs. The asset manager said it marks the first time spot SOL has been available to US investors in an ETF.

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