SEC issues new ‘listing standards’ for crypto ETPs, what are they?

The U.S. SEC reportedly issued new ‘listing standards’ for crypto asset-based ETPs in a new exchange filing. What are the requirements for a listing?

According to a recent post by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balhunas, U.S. financial regulators have issued what he dubbed as new “listing standards” for crypto Exchange Traded Products or ETPs. The list was found in a filing addressed to the SEC from CBOE for Generic Listing Standards for Crypto Asset ETPs.

Based on the filing, the new rule proposed by CBOE would allow an issuer’s shares to be listed on an exchange if the underlying digital asset has a contract on a Designated Contract Market at a minimum period of 6 months of exposure.

“Provided that the exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement, whether directly or through common membership in ISG, with such Designated Contract Market,” wrote CBOE in the filing.

The list shared by Balhunas consists of 18 coins in the crypto market, consisting of tokens like Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polkadot (DOT), Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink, Stellar, Solana (SOL), Hedera, Cardano (ADA) and many more. These tokens are allegedly going to be approved for an ETP by the SEC.

“Any coin that has futures tracking it for >6mo on Coinbase’s derivatives exchange would be approved (below is list). It’s about a dozen of the usual suspects, the same ones we had at 85% or above in our odds,” said Balhunas in his post about the SEC’s filing.

This aligns with market predictions that gave around 85% odds to these same coins being the first approved under modern SEC rules. They are expected to make their debuts on U.S. exchanges around September 2025 or October 2025.

The SEC’s previous note on crypto ETPs

Previously, the SEC announced that it has approved in-kind creation and redemption for all spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs.

On July 28, the agency finalized orders which allowed participants to create and redeem shares of crypto ETPs using crypto as the underlying asset instead of cash. This means that ETPs can use major tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum as the underlying asset.

The same rule applies to all approved spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, including those from major issuers like BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark Invest, and VanEck. The approvals were granted through accelerated processes to major exchanges, including Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe BZX.