Key Takeaways
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The U.S. government reopened after a 41-day record shutdown, bringing long-awaited relief to the crypto industry.
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The SEC has restarted work on altcoin ETF approvals, with the XRP ETF likely debuting by Thursday.
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Lawmakers also revived the long-stalled CLARITY Act, a comprehensive crypto market structure bill.
After 41 days of gridlock, furloughs, and frozen progress, Washington is finally back in business.
On Nov. 12, the U.S. government officially reopened following the passage of a bipartisan funding bill—the longest shutdown in American history finally coming to a close.
The breakthrough came late Sunday when the Senate passed a resolution 60–40 after weeks of stalemate.
The House followed early Monday morning, sending the bill to President Donald Trump, who signed it before markets opened.
For the crypto industry, which had been anxiously watching from the sidelines, the reopening couldn’t have come at a better time.
Dozens of pending regulatory actions, spanning ETF approvals, staking policy, and the long-awaited crypto market structure bill, had been frozen for more than a month.
Federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), are now returning to full capacity after running on skeleton staff since early October.
Their absence had slowed crypto’s most critical year yet. From ETF launches to market oversight, nearly every milestone was put on hold.
On the very first day back, regulators wasted no time. Within hours, several crypto-related initiatives were revived.
The SEC’s reactivation immediately unlocked a backlog of over 90 crypto ETF applications, many awaiting final review before the shutdown.
According to ETF expert Nate Geraci, the reopening could trigger a “floodgate” moment for the industry, with multiple launches expected within weeks.
The XRP ETF appears to be at the front of the line.
A flurry of activity at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) on Monday revealed that 11 XRP-linked products were listed for clearing—a sign that approvals may be imminent.
Canary Capital has also filed Form 8-A for its Nasdaq XRP ETF, indicating that it could begin trading as soon as Thursday, once the exchange certifies the listing.
Meanwhile, a separate development from the U.S. Treasury and IRS gave further lift to the ETF space.
The agencies formally approved staking-as-a-service for spot crypto ETFs, allowing fund managers holding proof-of-stake tokens, such as Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH), to stake their assets and distribute rewards to investors.
It’s a decision analysts say could attract billions in inflows to PoS-based crypto funds.
Congress, too, wasted no time returning to work.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, chaired by Sens. John Boozman and Cory Booker, reintroduced the long-awaited market structure framework to clarify how cryptocurrencies are regulated.
The proposal divides oversight between agencies:
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The CFTC would become crypto’s main watchdog.
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The SEC would focus on securities,
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And new retail investor protections would bridge both regimes.
In parallel, the Senate revived discussions on the CLARITY Act, the companion to a House-passed bill designed to define “ancillary assets” and streamline registration for token issuers.
Crypto policy watchers believe the chances of passage are higher than ever under President Trump’s pro-crypto administration, with lawmakers targeting markups by Thanksgiving and potential approval by early 2025.
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