The current process allows ETFs that meet certain conditions to access the markets without requiring a complicated exemption application to the regulator, and this approach has seen explosive growth, from $4 trillion in 2019 to $12 trillion in 2025.
“It is designed to build a case that could be used to justify policy changes in the future that would allow ETFs to focus on a broader universe of assets,” Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst at TD Cowen, said in a note to clients. He said the broader range of ETFs could include “those based on event-driven contracts, crypto assets and single-stock strategies.”
Atkins’ SEC has made it a priority to embrace new technologies, particularly cryptocurrencies, for which it is working on major policies enabling innovations such as securities tokenization. In the meantime, his position on the ETF could also be rewritten.
“Market participants have questioned whether new ETFs whose primary investment strategy is to invest in assets that are not securities within the meaning of the Investment Company Act are investment companies,” according to the SEC filing, which posed a number of questions on this point. He also asked questions about the period in which ETFs become effective and what must be disclosed during this process.
