SEC Faces Pressure to Speed Up Crypto ETF Review Process

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is facing pressure to speed up its review process for new exchange-traded products, particularly in the crypto space.

Grayscale, 21Shares, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and other industry players submitted opinions to the SEC on September 4, urging it to allow confidential draft filings, shorten regulators' response deadlines, and permit staking structures for spot crypto products.

Grayscale argued that allowing confidential draft filings could reduce incentives for competitors to quickly mimic proposed products or file similar applications. 21Shares took a similar stance, pointing out the risk of competitors rapidly copying content once an application is made public.

a16z focused on shortening the review period itself, suggesting that procedures could be further reduced due to electronic filing, standardized disclosure formats, and repeated questions across products.