By: Jake Moodie
, Analyst, Digital Asset Group at Ninepoint Partners
CRYPTO ETF SEASON IS LIKELY IMMINENT, APPROVALS COULD BE JUST DAYS AWAY
In June, we
published a
Digital Asset Digest where we shared our midyear outlook for the second half of 2025. In it, we wrote: “Everyone is talking about crypto IPO season, but crypto ETF season might be closer than you think.” Based on the past two weeks, that ETF season now looks just weeks, maybe even days, away. Last week, we
noted that the SEC approved generic listing standards for certain commodity-based ETFs (including those holding cryptoassets). This came as nearly 100 spot altcoin ETF filings were already in the review queue. Since then, the pace has only accelerated, with constant back-and-forth between the SEC and issuers. For example, last Friday, several asset managers
updated their S-1 filings for Solana ETFs to address staking, a move that ETF commentator Nate Geraci suggested could mean approvals as soon as this week or next. Then on Monday, the SEC
reportedly told issuers to withdraw their 19b-4 filings. Thanks to the new generic standards, that step is no longer required; issuers now only need to file an S-1. Bloomberg’s James Seyffart reacted, noting: “The SEC can move absurdly fast if they really want to… we could see approvals in a matter of days. But there’s no guarantee.” Finally, on Tuesday, the biggest signal yet arrived. Following the 19b-4 withdrawals, Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas
said the odds of Litecoin, Solana, and XRP ETFs being approved by year-end are now effectively 100%, which all had official decision deadlines in the first two weeks of October. The clock is ticking.
FROM GLOBAL PAYMENTS TO COLLATERAL, STABLECOINS ARE REWIRING GLOBAL FINANCE: CITI, VISA, SWIFT, AND OTHERS ARE ON BOARD
2025 will be remembered as the year stablecoins went mainstream and truly hit escape velocity. This past week alone felt like a microcosm of what’s already happening, and what’s still to come. Let’s break it down. First, Citi
published a new report,
Stablecoins 2030, where they revised their market size projections upward. Back in the Spring, their base case for 2030 was $1.6 trillion, now it’s $1.9 trillion. Their bull case went from $3.7 trillion to $4.0 trillion. With today’s stablecoin market sitting at about $290 billion, Citi now sees 7–14x growth for the stablecoin market in the next four and a half years. Second, there was a flood of new initiatives. Visa
rolled out a pilot program using stablecoins to modernize cross-border business payments. SWIFT
revealed it’s working with 30 banks on a blockchain-based ledger for 24/7 cross-border payments. Nine European banks
teamed up to launch a MiCA-compliant Euro stablecoin. Cloudflare
announced its own NET Dollar stablecoin designed for online payments and the “agentic web.” Deutsche Börse Group
partnered with Circle to bring USDC and EURC into its regulated market infrastructure. Third, CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham announced an
initiative to allow tokenized collateral in derivatives markets, calling collateral management the “killer app” for stablecoins. The pace of stablecoin adoption and integration isn’t just staggering at this point, it’s accelerating.
October 3, 2025
