Government Shutdown Delays XRP ETF Approvals; Decisions Now Expected in Late 2025

The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has officially halted the approval process for several anticipated XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), pushing their deadlines past the initial October window. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has paused all related actions due to the shutdown.

New Timeline and Market Expectations

• Delayed Approval: A crypto expert suggests that even once the government reopens, the SEC will require approximately four weeks to clear backlogs, conduct legal reviews, and finalize sign-offs. This delay pushes the likely approval window for the XRP ETFs to late November or the end of December 2025.
• Faster Review Possible: Despite the delay, some analysts believe the overall review timeline for crypto ETFs, including XRP, could be shortened. This is due to the SEC's updated framework, which removed the 19b-4 requirement and introduced a new generic listing standard, focusing solely on the S-1 filing process.
• High Probability: Market data reflects strong confidence in eventual approval, with Polymarket showing the probability of an XRP ETF being approved by the end of 2025 surging to 99%.

Major Filers and Broader Impact

A number of major asset managers—including Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, WisdomTree, and CoinShares—were awaiting SEC decisions for their XRP ETF applications, which were originally scheduled between October 18 and October 25.

The shutdown is also affecting ETF proposals for other major cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, Solana, and Cardano, all of which are facing similar setbacks.

Industry reactions view the situation as an inevitable, yet temporary, pause. Nate Geraci of The ETF Store saw the delay as unavoidable, while Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas likened the situation to a "rain delay"—a temporary hold, not a cancellation of the event.

October 2025, Cryptoniteuae