Following Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s election, members of the crypto community are celebrating a renewed sense of hope for their ETF ambitions. The change in political leadership is seen as a potential turning point for the approval of cryptocurrency ETFs focused on altcoins such as Solana, XRP and Litecoin.
Solana Gains Ground In ETF Approval Race
Unlike the Biden administration, which approached digital assets with ongoing enforcement actions and a hostile regulatory environment, President-elect Trump has embraced the industry with key promises to spur growth in the nascent financial sector.
Trump’s pro-crypto stance has encouraged Wall Street to push forward with ETF applications that had previously appeared unlikely to succeed. With the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) receiving numerous applications for funds tracking XRP, Solana and Litecoin, there is a palpable sense of optimism in the air.
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noted that “these altcoin ETFs were going to be pretty much dead-on-arrival if Harris won, but with Trump, they at least have a fighting chance.” While he stresses that success is not guaranteed, the regulatory hurdles appear less daunting under the new administration.
The cryptocurrency market has been buoyed by the recent approval of ETFs that hold Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have attracted significant investment—over $24 billion in net inflows for Bitcoin alone.
This momentum is expected to extend to altcoins, particularly Solana, which has garnered substantial institutional interest due to its competitive positioning against Ethereum.
Noelle Acheson, author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, believes that Solana ETFs are most likely to gain approval, citing the token’s strong performance and clearer narrative. In contrast, XRP faces challenges as many investors find its use case less understood.
Trump’s Election Spurs Crypto Market Rally
Bitcoin, often perceived as a “Trump trade,” has reached new highs above $76,000 on Thursday, reflecting the optimism surrounding the potential for a favorable regulatory environment.
Analysts from Bernstein predict that the regulatory changes under a Trump administration could propel Bitcoin’s price to $200,000 by the end of 2025.
During his campaign, Trump transitioned from skepticism to full support for cryptocurrencies, promising to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler with regulators more favorable to digital assets.
However, the actual influence Trump may have on the SEC, an independent regulatory body, remains uncertain. Stephane Ouellette, co-founder and CEO of FRNT Financial, pointed out that while the SEC might adopt a more crypto-friendly approach, its bureaucratic nature makes outcomes hard to predict.
The anticipated departure of Gensler has already spurred a rally in cryptocurrencies previously categorized as “unregistered securities.” Tokens like Uniswap (UNI) and Polygon (POL) have seen price increases of 38% and 20%, respectively, in the days following the election results, outpacing Bitcoin’s 14% rise.
The election outcomes have also positively impacted ETH, which has risen 21% since the election. Investors are hopeful for a more favorable regulatory environment that could lead to greater acceptance and success for Ether ETFs, which have not enjoyed the same level of enthusiasm as Bitcoin ETFs.
However, the uncertainty surrounding whether staking yields are classified as commodities or securities complicates the development of Ether ETFs.
Jesper Johansen, CEO of Ethereum staking platform Northstake, highlighted that $6 billion in Ether ETFs is currently not being staked, representing a significant missed opportunity for investors.
At the time of writing, Solana, which is now the fourth largest cryptocurrency on the market after overtaking Binance Coin (BNB) in terms of market cap earlier this week, is trading at $196, up 15% on the week.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com