The U.S. federal fiscal year started on Oct. 1, 2026 without a budget, sending the Securities and Exchange Commission into a funding lapse and stopping reviews of new crypto ETF filings, according to HOGE Wire.
During the interruption, registration statements cannot be declared effective, and the SEC is no longer issuing comment letters, the report said. Products that are already listed are not affected. BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC and related Grayscale products can still trade and continue handling creations and redemptions.
Both approval tracks are on hold
Crypto ETFs require two parallel filings: a 19b-4 submitted by the exchange, and an S-1 or N-1A submitted by the issuer. HOGE Wire said both tracks are paused during the funding lapse.
Generic listing standards were approved in September 2025
The report said the SEC approved generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares on Sept. 17, 2025. Eligible products no longer need to file individual 19b-4 proposals, and the review period is reduced from as long as about 240 days to about 75 days.
That template does not cover leveraged, inverse, actively managed, lending or staking products.
More than 90 applications were still pending
HOGE Wire said there were more than 90 pending applications at the start of October, with some deadlines falling in the opening days of the month. Nate Geraci told Decrypt that what the industry had been calling “ETF Cryptober” may be on hold for now, and that this is a delay rather than a denial.
Report also cited ETHB staking terms
The article added that on March 17, 2026, the SEC and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission jointly said protocol staking does not constitute a securities offering or sale. BlackRock’s Ethereum product ETHB is listed on Nasdaq, carries a 0.25% fee, and distributes 82% of staking rewards to investors.