A staggering 72 crypto ETFs are now stuck in SEC regulatory purgatory, waiting for the green light.

The crypto industry is collectively holding its breath as newly appointed SEC Chair Paul Atkins settles into his throne.

After years of Gary Gensler's regulation-by-enforcement approach, the ETF dam might finally be about to break.

The Anti-Gensler Has Arrived

Paul Atkins just got sworn in as the 34th SEC Chair on April 21st, and the entire industry is breathing a sigh of relief.

Unlike his predecessor, who treated crypto like a disease, Atkins comes with a pro-free market reputation that has Bitcoin maxis feeling bullish.

He's essentially promising to do everything Gensler didn't – bring regulatory clarity, eliminate political interference, and foster innovation.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is practically giddy, saying, "Paul Atkins will bring the clarity and certainty that we need."

From Bitcoin to Doge: The ETF Explosion

The pending ETF lineup reads like a CoinMarketCap ranking page – everything from blue-chips to meme coins.

XRP is leading the pack with 10 different filings, followed by Solana with 5, and both Litecoin and Dogecoin with 3 each.

There's even a 2x Melania Trump token ETF in the mix, which is the kind of thing that would have given Gensler an aneurysm.

Bloomberg ETF guru Eric Balchunas is calling 2025 a potential "wild year" for crypto ETFs, and that might be an understatement.

The Good Old Bitcoin Dominance

Despite all these altcoin ETFs lined up, Bitcoin's still the king of institutionalized crypto.

BTC ETFs account for a staggering 90% of all global crypto fund assets, and analysts expect it to still command 80-85% of the market share in the long term.

Even with a flood of doggy coins and layer-ones getting their funds, Bitcoin remains the gateway drug for suits wanting crypto exposure.

That first-mover advantage is proving more challenging to shake than a Bitcoin maximalist's conviction during a bear market.

TradFi Giants Are Making Moves

Major investment firms aren't waiting around for the full green light – they're finding creative ways to get in now.

VanEck has just received approval for its "Onchain Economy ETF" (NODE), which holds stocks of companies in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

ARK Invest is using Canadian-listed products to add staked Solana exposure to two of its ETFs, circumventing the US regulatory logjam.

Traditional finance is adapting to this new paradigm quickly, as the lines between TradFi and crypto continue to blur.

Approval Doesn't Mean Success

But here’s a bit of cold water on the hype – just because the SEC says "yes" doesn't mean investors will care.

Previous ETF launches, such as VanEck's Onchain ETF, show that approval doesn't automatically translate to massive trading volume.

With dozens of similar products potentially entering the market simultaneously, we're looking at the ETF equivalent of an overcrowded altcoin sector.

The real winners will be those with the best marketing and the lowest fees, just as in every other market.

The Atkins Diet For Regulation

The big question now is whether Atkins will fast-track these 72 applications or take a more measured approach.

His pro-innovation stance has the industry hopeful, but even crypto-friendly regulators still need to think about investor protection.

If the SEC opens the floodgates, the US could finally establish itself as the global crypto capital.

If they drag their feet, we'll see more innovation happening offshore while US investors watch from the sidelines.

Either way, 2025 is shaping up to be the year institutional crypto investing goes from niche to mainstream.