In November 2025, Wall Street witnessed a transformative change — cryptocurrencies like Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin, which had been labeled as 'speculative toys' by mainstream financial institutions, collectively debuted on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ as regulated ETF products within just a few weeks.
The driving force behind this turning point is the 'Universal Listing Standards' implemented by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September 2025. On September 17, the SEC officially approved the standard amendment proposals submitted by three major exchanges, opening a fast track for eligible crypto assets to be listed: either the asset has at least 6 months of trading history in the futures market regulated by the CFTC, and the exchange has signed a monitoring agreement with that market; or there are precedents of ETFs holding at least 40% exposure to that asset in the market. Coincidentally, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin all meet the above admission criteria, allowing them to bypass the lengthy process of strict individual approvals.
The concentrated listing of altcoin ETFs is profoundly reshaping the landscape and valuation logic of the crypto market. Market liquidity stratification has intensified: the first tier consists of ETF assets represented by BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and DOGE — they hold compliant fiat entry points, and registered investment advisors (RIAs) and pension funds can allocate without barriers, enjoying both 'compliance premiums' and avoiding high liquidity risks; the second tier includes non-ETF assets, covering other Layer 1 public chains and DeFi tokens. Due to the lack of ETF channels, they still rely on retail funding and on-chain liquidity, and the risk of marginalization continues to rise.
This pronounced differentiation is driving a fundamental shift in the valuation logic of the crypto market: from the past 'narrative speculation-driven' approach, it is gradually switching to a multipolar valuation system dominated by 'compliance channels + institutional allocation.' Even if Bitcoin falls from its peak of $126,000 in early 2025 to around $80,000 by the end of November, the entire crypto market remains overshadowed by downward trends, and the listing process for altcoin ETFs has not been hindered.
Looking ahead to the next 6-12 months, more crypto assets like Avalanche and Chainlink may follow this path and rush towards ETF listings. It is certain that ETFs will become a key watershed in distinguishing 'core' and 'marginal' crypto assets — this market, which was once driven by speculation and narratives, is accelerating towards a new order anchored in 'compliance channels + institutional allocation,' and this process is irreversible.
