Blockchain Just Went Mainstream: Unpacking the ETF-ization of Cryptocurrencies

The floodgates are opening.

Almost two years ago, something happened that changed the crypto landscape forever.

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest crypto by market cap, had its spot exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) approved in January 2024. And Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest crypto by market cap, had its spot ETFs launched soon after in July 2024.

It was a move that many saw as a turning point for crypto adoption. It meant that anyone could gain exposure to the two biggest cryptos by simply going through their brokerage accounts like they would a regular stock. No need for special blockchain-based wallets, private keys, or any of the risks typically involved with owning digital assets.

The demand was clear. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs did around $4.6 billion in trading volume on their first day. And BlackRock’s IBIT became the fastest U.S. ETF to ever hit $10 billion Assets Under Management (“AUM”), just under two months after launch. By mid-2025, spot bitcoin ETFs had already crossed $50 billion in cumulative net inflows. And now, they’ve seen over $1.58 trillion in cumulative volumes.

Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs showed around $13 billion cumulative net inflows as of December 4, 2025. It may be moving slower, but it’s clear that crypto spot ETF demand is real in the U.S.

But up until recently, only BTC and ETH met the strict requirements laid out by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to qualify for ETF launches. For many years, the SEC said spot crypto markets were too easily manipulated, so exchanges launching spot crypto ETFs had to prove that wasn’t the case for the cryptos in question.

This resulted in a process where exchanges had to propose rule changes to list cryptos, which the SEC could then stall or reject. Bitcoin and Ethereum were the only two that fit the bill, and even they had to go through lengthy processes for approval.

That changed in September 2025.

New Standards Are Fueling the Boom in Spot Crypto ETFs

In September of this year, the SEC approved generic listing standards for spot commodity Exchange-Traded Products (“ETPs”), including digital assets like cryptos. This means exchanges can now bypass the rule-change mechanic for listing their crypto ETFs if they meet the new generic standards. Basically, as long as a product meets the standards, exchanges can list it without having to go through lengthy submission processes.

Just one month later, while the U.S. Government was in the middle of a shutdown, Bitwise launched the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which saw big inflows of around $420 million in its first week. In November, Fidelity (FSOL) and Canary (SOLC) also launched spot Solana ETFs on the NYSE and Nasdaq, respectively.

September also saw the launch of the first Dogecoin (DOGE) spot ETF, the REX-Osprey DOGE ETF (DOJE), on Cboe BZX through a regulated wrapper. And November saw two more spot DOGE ETFs launch as well, the Grayscale Dogecoin Trust ETF (GDOG) and the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (BWOW). So even “memecoins” can now be bought in a typical brokerage account.

Meanwhile in October, Canary launched the Canary Litecoin ETF (LTCC) and the Canary HBAR ETF (HBR). So even though the SEC’s operations were disrupted, the new generic listing standards gave exchanges a path forward to launch their own spot crypto ETFs.

Last month, the Canary XRP ETF (XRPC) launched for Ripple (XRP). And just this month, a new spot ETF was launched for Chainlink (LINK) offered by Grayscale, called the Chainlink ETF (GLNK).

All in all, cumulative spot ETF volumes across bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), Ripple, Dogecoin (DOGE), Chainlink, and Litecoin (LTC) amounted to $1.94 trillion as of December 16, 2025. Every month, more and more spot crypto ETFs are launching.

So, what does it mean for investors?

What This Means For Investors

Many people avoid cryptos because of the steep learning curve involved with investing in them. It involves passing Know-Your-Customer standards for an exchange like Coinbase and transacting in a completely new way than what most people are comfortable with.

But U.S. spot ETFs offer a more traditional path for crypto exposure, and now that extends beyond just bitcoin and Ethereum. Soon, many cryptos will be available for traditional investors to add to their portfolios, something that’s sure to herald in a new era of Traditional Finance (“TradFi”) investing in cryptocurrencies.

But that distinction is important.

ETFs don’t equal blockchain adoption in the same way as buying cryptos directly from exchanges and storing them in personal wallets. They’re instead contributing to more brokerage distribution.

Remember, many digital assets are what’s called “native tokens” for their respective blockchains (contrary to popular opinion, there is not just one blockchain). Bitcoin is the native token of the bitcoin blockchain. ETH is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, and so on.

And so, by purchasing, storing, and transacting with these assets on their networks, users are increasing adoption of the underlying technology. But that doesn’t happen with these ETFs.

Basically, TradFi investors can now own regulated wrappers that track SOL or HBAR in their brokerage or retirement accounts instead of directly using the underlying blockchain to hold and trade it. ETFs make cryptos more investable, but they don’t make the blockchains more used in a direct sense.

However, they do give more visibility to alternative cryptos, which leads to more capital, more developers receiving incentives and funding, more applications being built, and eventually more usage. It’s a slippery slope of adoption instead of a direct line.

That means that the more spot crypto ETFs that are launched, the more eyes will turn towards Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”) and cryptocurrencies as legitimate forms of investing, with real utility being built out and culminating in the eventual merging of TradFi and DeFi systems.

And we expect many more cryptos to follow. Not every crypto will be eligible under the generic standards to list, but the ones that do are likely to have their own spot ETFs launched sooner rather than later.

Put simply, we’re on the cusp of a huge change in the way we interact with both finance and data. And crypto is leading the charge with innovation and security models.

But the truth is that the upside in terms of crypto value is often found by those who take the time to learn and invest in cryptos in their native ecosystem. By getting in now, making a Coinbase account and setting up a self-custody wallet like Trust Wallet, crypto investors are already ready for the incoming storm of institutional flows.

At Crypto Capital, Eric Wade and I research cryptos with real utility that are integrating with TradFi and heralding institutional adoption of decentralized infrastructure to make financial rails faster, cheaper, and more secure. And we have plenty of educational materials to help the biggest DeFi novice become comfortable taking their first steps into crypto investing.

We look at many cryptos, including the ones mentioned above, and run them through our UPDRAFT scoring system that looks at important factors like users and community, decentralization, how easy it is to invest from a TradFi standpoint, the team behind each project, and their future plans.

And we’ve built out a portfolio full of everything from decentralized music protocols and ticketing services to projects that are tokenizing Real-World Assets, like homes and treasury bills, so that almost anyone from around the world can participate in this emerging market.

Good investing,

Stephen Wooldridge II

Editor’s Note: "A strange day is coming to America."

That's according to a former Goldman Sachs executive who predicted everything from the 2022 crash, the death of the 60/40 portfolio, and even the rise of blockchain.

He's not the only one sounding the alarm:

• The Wall Street Journal calls it a 'New World Order.'

• The Financial Times says, "the unimaginable is becoming imaginable"... and that it could "upend the global monetary system."

• And one of President Trump's senior advisers has already laid out the plan to accelerate this trend. It's all written out, point-by-point, in black and white. (Details here.)

So, what should you do right now to come out ahead?

Click here to learn more in Dr. Eifrig's new free presentation... and get the three money moves to capture the biggest potential gains as this seismic change unfolds.