Grayscale’s proposal to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) into a spot ETF made headway this week after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday gave the sign-off on an accelerated basis for the listing and trading of the fund on NYSE Arca. However, investors will have to wait longer as its debut has been temporarily delayed. SEC Hits Pause On GDLC Conversion To ETF The SEC put a pause on converting the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund LLC a day after agency staff approved the fund to start trading.  “This letter is to notify you that, pursuant to Rule 431 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, 17 CFR 201.431, the Commission will review the delegated action,” the letter, addressed to the New York Stock Exchange, stated. “In accordance with Rule 431(e), the July 1, 2025 order is stayed until the Commission orders otherwise.” It can be found here on the SEC website. We have a few theories as to why this happened.

1. The SEC doesn't want to let anything to launch under the 19b-4 process until they officially approve or come up with some framework for digital assets in the ETF wrapper. pic.twitter.com/WegC5d2Tcj— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) July 2, 2025 Bitcoin comprises around 80% of the fund’s holdings. Roughly 11% of the ETF’s assets would be in Ethereum, while Solana accounts for approximately 2.8% of the fund, Ripple’s XRP commands over 4.8%, and Cardano (ADA) has a weighting of 0.8% in the fund. The SEC told NYSE that it would let it know “of any pertinent action taken by the Commission.” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart suggested the delay may be tied to the SEC’s ongoing efforts to create an internal framework for issuing crypto exchange-traded products. The SEC doesn’t want to let anything launch under the 19b-4 process until they officially approve or come up with some framework for digital assets in the ETF wrapper,” Seyffart noted. Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas concurred with this observation. The plot thickens. Upper level of SEC telling $GDLC it can't launch until otherwise notified. Not sure why, no other info than this letter. My guess tho: They want to issue the crypto ETP listing standards before any '33 act spot ETFs hit market with these other coins. So likely… https://t.co/Za7rYk1o0E— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) July 2, 2025 While the SEC greenlighted Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, it has yet to give the nod to other altcoin spot products, including those tracking the price of Solana, XRP, and Cardano. The Bloomberg analysts are confident the regulator will approve such crypto products by year-end, though.

It only took one day for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to walk back on an approval given to Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) to convert to an exchange-traded fund (ETF), inadvertently halting its launch. On 1 July 2025, the SEC shared a letter stating its intention to again review the recent approval granted to GDLC to convert its fund into an ETF. The SEC’s approval of the Grayscale ETF had been welcomed as a landmark development for multi-asset crypto ETFs in the US. For the uninitiated, Grayscale brings a regulatory structure to a product that tracks Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other leading tokens by converting its multi-asset crypto fund. The regulatory body’s initial approval indicated that its authorities were confident in the product’s readiness for the market. Nonetheless, it has decided to invoke Rule 431 of the SEC’s Rules of Practice to review its earlier decision. Breaking news from yesterday and thoughts – Despite initial clearance from the SEC, it recently hit pause on plans to convert Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund into an ETF The temporary pause doesn’t necessarily mean denial, it’ll trigger further review, to assess: Market… https://t.co/apyNUx2D62 — Salazar.eth (@0xSalazar) July 3, 2025 The GDLC fund holds $755 million in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Cardano. According to some analysts, the SEC’s agency staff signed off on the approval rather than the commissioners, hence the call back. In its letter addressed to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the SEC said, “This letter is to notify you that, pursuant to Rule 431 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, 17 CFR 201.431, the Commission will review the delegated action.” Additionally, it confirmed, “In accordance with Rule 431(e), the July 1, 2025, order is stayed until the Commission orders otherwise.” Explore: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 Altcoin Exposure Draws Rare SEC Review of the Grayscale ETF Application The GDLC fund, launched in 2018, includes a variety of cryptocurrencies, with more than 91% of its holdings invested in Ethereum and Bitcoin. The rest is made up of altcoins such as XRP, Solana and Cardano. Also, the GDLC includes established cryptocurrencies based on their market size and adjusts every quarter to match changes. If approved, the GDLC will become a public ETF that lets investors hold several crypto assets in one place. Historically, such reversals are uncommon. They often signal ongoing internal debates on investor protection, managing regulatory consistency and market stability. Altcoins, posing varying degrees of risk, could have been the trigger for the SEC commissioners to renege on the staff-level approval. The inclusion of assets like XRP and Solana, whose status is still up for debate, may have raised concerns regarding the legal treatment of the underlying tokens and the clarity of disclosure as multi-asset products, such as Grayscale’s, add additional levels of structural and legal complexity, in contrast to single-asset ETFs. Explore: 10+ Crypto Tokens That Can Hit 1000x in 2025 Bloomberg Analyst Thinks SEC is Reassessing Grayscale ETF to Develop Clearer Rules Some analysts, such as Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, believe that the SEC is reassessing the Grayscale ETF to develop clearer rules before allowing more complex crypto funds. Baluchnas also speculates that the regulatory body is waiting to set consistent standards for crypto investment products before giving the green signal to GDLC’s ETF. The plot thickens. Upper level of SEC telling $GDLC it can't launch until otherwise notified. Not sure why, no other info than this letter. My guess tho: They want to issue the crypto ETP listing standards before any '33 act spot ETFs hit market with these other coins. So likely… https://t.co/Za7rYk1o0E — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) July 2, 2025   Explore: Top Solana Meme Coins to Buy in July 2025 Key Takeaways

• The GDLC fund holds $755m in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Cardano


• Bitcoin and Ethereum make up more than 91% of the GDLC fund’s portfolio


• Multi-asset products, such as Grayscale’s, add additional levels of structural and legal complexity in contrast to single-asset ETFs

REX-Osprey’s Solana ETF launched on July 2, with SOL now the third crypto asset to have a spot ETF in the US after Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart have now suggested that an XRP ETF could be the next to launch.  XRP ETF Next As Solana ETF Goes Live In an X post, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart suggested that an XRP ETF may be next following the launch of a Solana ETF. This is based on Seyffart and his colleague Eric Balchunas’ prediction that the XRP fund has a 95% chance of approval this year. They had also predicted that a SOL ETF had a 95% chance of approval and that this fund has now launched.  Although not through the conventional structure, REX-Osprey launched the first Solana staking ETF on July 2. This is simply a spot SOL ETF, which will also provide staking rewards to investors. Additionally, the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which also had a 95% approval odds, has also been approved by the SEC, which puts the XRP ETF in pole position to be next.  Following the approval order for the conversion of Grayscale’s fund into an ETF, market expert Nate Geraci declared that a spot XRP ETF is up next for the SEC’s approval. He predicts that other altcoin ETFs for Cardano and Litecoin will also get the nod from the commission. However, based on Seyffart and Balchunas’ prediction, a Litecoin ETF is the only one that could come before an XRP ETF.  The approval odds for a Litecoin ETF also stand at 95%. Furthermore, the final SEC deadline for the LTC ETF is October 2, just days ahead of the XRP ETF’s final deadline, which is October 17.  Traders Expect XRP ETF Next Polymarket data shows that traders are expecting an XRP ETF before a Litecoin ETF or any other altcoin ETF. Data from the prediction market shows that there is an 87% chance that the XRP fund gets approved by December 31. On the other hand, there is an 86% chance the SEC will approve an LTC ETF by year-end.  Other altcoin ETFs have lower odds of approval by year-end. Seyyfart and Balchunas predicted that there is a 90% chance that Cardano, Dogecoin, Hedera, Avalanche, and Polkadot ETFs get approved this year. Polymarket traders say that there is an 83% and 76% that the Commission approves an ADA and DOGE ETF, respectively.  Meanwhile, Ripple’s decision to drop the cross-appeal against the SEC and potentially end the XRP lawsuit is another reason why experts like Geraci are confident that an XRP ETF will come soon.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.26, up over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.