The SEC approved a rule change on September 3 that expands how crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be structured and managed on Nasdaq Texas, opening the door to actively managed, multi-asset crypto products that blend Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The approval doesn't declare these coins as official commodities under federal law, as some social media posts suggested, but it does give asset managers new flexibility to build diversified crypto funds that institutional investors have been requesting.

What Exactly Did the SEC Approve for Nasdaq Texas?

The SEC's order, numbered 34-106268, gives accelerated approval to a proposal Nasdaq Texas filed on August 20. The change amends Rule 5711(d), the exchange's listing standards for commodity-based trust shares, the category that covers crypto trust products such as spot ETFs. Spot ETFs are funds that hold the actual cryptocurrency directly, rather than derivatives or futures contracts.

The order does not create new federal law or declare Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP as commodities under federal statute. Instead, it changes the requirements a fund must meet to list on one specific exchange. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP appear in the order as part of a worked example showing how a new 15% holdings buffer works. The SEC described a hypothetical trust holding $95 million in market value of the four coins, all of which it said presently qualify as eligible commodities under the exchange's existing test.

That test requires an asset to underlie a futures contract that has traded on an ISG (Intermarket Surveillance Group) market, a group of exchanges that share trading data to police manipulation, for at least six months, and to have an ETF that provides at least 40% economic exposure to it. Each coin already met that bar before this order, which is why the SEC could use them as an example rather than making a novel finding.

How Do These New Rules Change What Crypto Funds Can Do?

The rule change makes two practical adjustments to how a listed crypto trust can be built and run. Before this change, a commodity-based trust listed on Nasdaq Texas needed nearly all of its holdings to meet the exchange's eligible-commodity test. The amended rule lets a trust hold up to 15% of its net asset value (NAV), the total market value of everything the fund owns, in assets that do not meet that test.

A fund manager could use that 15% buffer to add a smaller token without a mature futures market, or to hold cash and other instruments needed to manage the fund day to day. The SEC noted that this 15% threshold matches what it already approved for other diversified crypto funds, such as Grayscale's Digital Large Cap Fund.

The previous version of Rule 5711(d) required listed commodity trusts to track a fixed, publicly disclosed formula, the same passive structure that governs most existing spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. The amended rule permits actively managed strategies instead. A fund manager can now adjust a trust's holdings and weightings based on ongoing judgment rather than a fixed formula set in advance, the same flexibility that mutual fund managers already have outside the crypto space.

Ways Asset Managers Can Use the New Nasdaq Texas Framework

• Multi-asset crypto trusts: Fund managers can now build diversified crypto products that combine Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and a limited share of other assets in a single fund, instead of requiring investors to hold several separate single-asset ETFs.
• Active management strategies: Rather than locking in a static formula at launch, managers can adjust a trust's mix of holdings and weightings over time based on market conditions and investment judgment, similar to how traditional mutual funds operate.
• Smaller token exposure: The 15% buffer allows managers to add exposure to emerging cryptocurrencies that don't yet have mature futures markets or sufficient ETF trading volume, providing a pathway for newer assets to reach institutional investors.

Is This a Broader Win for Crypto Regulation?

The approval changes what asset managers can build, but does not change what XRP, Ethereum, and Solana legally are under federal law. Funds now have a clearer path to list actively managed, multi-asset crypto trusts on Nasdaq Texas that combine Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and a limited share of other assets, extending an approach the SEC already permits on Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe.

This rule change could bring more diversified crypto products to market and give institutions more ways to gain exposure without holding several separate single-asset funds. However, the CLARITY Act, the bill that would settle the question of whether crypto assets are securities or commodities with a permanent federal law, is still pending in the Senate. While this order changes a listing rule at one exchange, it is not a substitute for that bill, and it does not lock in a legal classification the SEC could not later revisit.

The Nasdaq Texas approval also follows materially identical rule changes the SEC approved for Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe in July, so this order extends a framework those three exchanges already operate under rather than establishing a new one. A separate and earlier action, a joint interpretation from the SEC and the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) in March, named Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP as crypto commodities alongside Cardano, Avalanche, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Chainlink. That March interpretation and this September listing-rule order are two different documents from two different processes, even though both use the same language about the four coins.

What Does This Mean for Institutional Crypto Adoption?

The timing of this approval matters in the context of broader institutional interest in crypto. Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $986.9 million during the week ending September 4, showing steady institutional demand for direct crypto exposure. The new Nasdaq Texas rules give asset managers more tools to meet that demand by building products that combine multiple assets in a single fund, potentially reducing the friction for institutions that want diversified crypto exposure without managing multiple separate positions.

Corporate accumulation has also continued even as Bitcoin's price pulled back from recent highs. Capital B, a French public company, bought 376 Bitcoin for about $29 million, lifting its treasury to 3,521 Bitcoin. Purchases like that remove coins from active trading supply and add demand that doesn't depend on short-term sentiment. The new ETF framework could amplify this trend by making it easier for asset managers to build funds that institutions can hold in their portfolios alongside traditional investments.