Key Takeaways
According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, Litecoin (LTC) has a better chance of securing ETF approval than XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE).
His comment follows the U.S. SEC’s acknowledgment of Grayscale’s spot ETF filings for XRP and DOGE. While Balchunas sees this as a positive step, he believes Litecoin is progressing more in the approval process than the other two assets.
Earlier this year, Balchunas and his colleague James Seyffart predicted that the SEC would approve multiple crypto ETFs in 2025. However, on Feb. 13, he mentioned that Litecoin could get the first nod.
On X (formerly Twitter), a certain user asked Balchunas the approval odds on a scale of 1 to 10.
In response, he noted that XRP and DOGE ETFs are rounding off the first phase. However, the analyst emphasized that the Litecoin spot ETF was already in its third stage.
“In Baseball terms: All of them are rounding 1st base, except for Litecoin which is headed to 3rd,” Balchunas stated .
In line with the analyst’s mention, Eleanor Terrett of FOX Business also agreed with the position. The US SEC had previously acknowledged the Litecoin spot ETF application on Jan. 29, making it the first altcoin to get that response.
Following the development, CCN observed that the odds of Litecoin ETF approval in 2025 soared on Polymarket bets. On Feb. 2, it was a 76% chance. But as of this writing, it has soared to 87%. For XRP, it stands at 81%, while Dogecoin is at 66%.
Meanwhile, regarding the DOGE and XRP spot ETFs, Terrett noted that this does not translate to automatic approval. According to her, this development only means that the SEC has become more open-minded about cryptocurrencies since its change in leadership.
“No, it doesn’t mean automatic approval and it doesn’t even guarantee the SEC will approve it down the line. So why is it notable? Because it means this SEC is being more open-minded and not flat out refusing to consider these products. Recall, exchanges pulled the SOL 19b-4 applications in December when the Gensler SEC signaled it would not engage with them,” Terrett added .