The change in leadership at the SEC with the departure of Gary Gensler and the arrival of Paul Atkins is opening the door to a more favorable regulatory environment for the approval of new cryptocurrency ETFs, such as Solana and XRP, which could attract up to $14.000 billion in investments, according to JPMorgan.
The change in leadership at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is raising expectations in the cryptocurrency market. With the departure of Gary Gensler and the arrival of Paul Atkins, experts predict that the regulatory environment could be more favorable for the approval of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to cryptocurrencies such as Solana and XRP.
According to a recent report by JPMorgan, these ETFs could attract up to $14.000 billion in investments during their first year of operation, if they are approved.
Regulatory context has been a key issue in the crypto market over the past few years. Gary Gensler, known for his restrictive approach to crypto assets, has maintained that many tokens should be classified as securities, which has limited the approval of ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
However, with President-elect Donald Trump taking office on January 20, the SEC will welcome new leadership. Paul Atkins, who is seen as more supportive of innovation in the financial sector, could mark a significant shift in the regulatory policy that the federal agency has maintained until now and open the door to new investment products based on crypto assets.
Optimistic projections for Solana and XRP, with ETFs in sight
JPMorgan has shared projections suggesting massive potential for Solana and XRP ETFs. According to Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, these products could compete with, and even eclipse, the early performance recorded by Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs.
Based on market penetration rates similar to existing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, JPMorgan estimates that Solana could attract between $3.000 billion and $6.000 billion, while XRP could garner between $4.000 billion and $8.000 billion in net new assets in its first year of operation.
JPMorgan’s figures above are based on Solana’s current market cap of around $91.000 billion and XRP’s, which has surpassed $153.000 billion. If these crypto ETFs were to reach 6% market penetration, as Bitcoin’s has, then assets could reach as high as $5.200 billion for Solana and $8.400 billion for XRP, the bank said. Even with a more cautious 3% penetration, such as Ethereum spot ETFs, the numbers are still significant, yielding around $2.700 billion for Solana and $4.300 billion for XRP.
The regulatory landscape under Paul Atkins' leadership
The new SEC chairman, Paul Atkins, has been described as a regulator more open to technological and financial innovation. Crypto experts hope his leadership can speed up the approval of new ETFs, including those linked to Solana and XRP.
Against this backdrop, Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, predicts that 2025 could be a pivotal year for cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded funds, and that the SEC could approve the launch of at least 50 new digital asset products this year under Atkins' leadership.
On the other hand, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, managing director at JPMorgan, has expressed some skepticism about the possible approvals of new crypto investment funds in the near term. He explained that cryptocurrency ETFs, which offer exposure to other crypto assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, might not see the light of day this 2025 due to regulatory concerns about their classification and whether or not they comply with securities laws.
However, it is true that the approval of Solana and XRP ETFs could have a quite significant positive impact on the crypto market, boosting investment in the sector, and attracting institutional investors who have so far been cautious due to existing regulatory barriers.
Likewise, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, previously expressed that his cryptocurrency XRP could regain the place it held in the crypto market before the lawsuit imposed by the SEC in 2020. Garlinghouse is confident that Trump will push for regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies and that this will open new growth opportunities for his cryptocurrency and the market in general.
