The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to rule on the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) this week, and an expert thinks a green light is almost guaranteed.

Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, predicted a high likelihood of approval, with such a decision potentially unlocking the path for the first U.S. spot ETFs tracking major altcoins like XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA).

The Stepping Stone for Altcoin ETFs

Grayscale’s GDLC is a diversified trust holding Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana, and Cardano. Approval to convert it into a listed ETF would represent the SEC’s first go-ahead for a U.S. product holding these specific altcoins within the ETF wrapper.

Posting on X on June 30, Geraci argued that the regulators engagement, evidenced by the filing of an amended S-3 form just last Thursday, signals serious consideration.

He highlighted a regulatory loophole that allows up to 15% of ETF holdings to be private assets, with some issuers getting “creative” to exceed the limit.

With XRP, SOL, and ADA making up less than 10% of the GDLC portfolio, Geraci explained that excluding them would be inconsistent with the 1933 Securities Act. He also believes the GDLC would provide a low-risk “test run” for the SEC before a “slow step into other assets.”

“Think *high likelihood* this is approved,” the analyst wrote. “Would then be followed later by approval for individual spot ETFs on xrp, sol, ada, etc.”

Regulatory Thaw

The anticipated clearance follows a series of pro-crypto developments in the United States. President Donald Trumps embrace of the industry has emboldened asset managers, leading to a flurry of altcoin ETF filings since early 2025, including standalone applications for XRP, SOL, and ADA from firms like WisdomTree, 21Shares, and VanEck.

Grayscale itself has filed separate proposals to convert its XRP and SOL trusts into spot ETFs, an action that, until recently, would have been considered dead on arrival. In February, the SEC acknowledged the investment giant’s Solana ETF proposal, a move Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas called “a baby step, but a notable development.”

Furthermore, one of the businesses connected to the president, Trump Media, now has some skin in the game after filing for a spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, with Crypto.com as custodian.

Meanwhile, institutional demand for such products is surging, with spot BTC ETFs attracting more than $2.2 billion in inflows last week. This makes it seven straight weeks of net inflows and pushes the cumulative total to just under $50 billion per data from SoSoValue.