Following the U.S. approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, British multinational bank Standard Chartered predicts that Solana (SOL) and XRP will be the next cryptocurrencies to receive their own exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a Friday note, Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of crypto research and emerging market foreign currencies, stated that the approval of ETFs for Solana and XRP is on the horizon. Although this development is expected in 2025, Kendrick noted that it is only a matter of time before these and other major digital coins achieve ETF status.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved eight spot Ethereum ETFs, allowing traditional investors to buy shares tracking the price of Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset. This follows the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January. Kendrick emphasized the significance of these approvals, suggesting that similar recognition for other cryptocurrencies is inevitable.
Despite skepticism from industry observers regarding the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs, the SEC unexpectedly greenlit the products after asset managers hastily filed amended paperwork. This move came amid speculation of a politically motivated shift in the SEC’s approach. The approval was particularly surprising given the SEC’s recent stringent actions against the crypto industry, including attempts to classify Ethereum as a security.
In 2023, Ripple, the company behind XRP, achieved a partial court victory against the SEC. A judge ruled that programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not qualify as securities, although institutional sales did. This ruling was seen as a positive development for the industry. Kendrick argued that the core technology of some cryptocurrencies is so similar to Ethereum that it would be challenging for the SEC to classify them as securities.
Kendrick also provided bullish forecasts for cryptocurrency prices, predicting that Ethereum could reach $8,000 per coin by the end of the year and maintaining a previous projection that Bitcoin could hit $150,000 per coin by the end of 2024. These predictions are tied to the anticipated success and broader acceptance of crypto ETFs.