At the Litecoin Summit 2025 in Las Vegas, one of the most anticipated sessions focused on the future of Litecoin in the world of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The panel, led by James Seyffart, a CFA and research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, brought together some of the sharpest minds in crypto finance.
Among them was Steven McClurg, CIO of Valkyrie Investments, a firm that made headlines for being the first to file for a Litecoin ETF in the U.S.
The overall mood? Cautiously optimistic, with a heavy leaning toward optimism.
Seyffart kicked off the discussion with a clear message:
“Our view is it’s going to be approved. It’s a matter of when, not if.”
Seyffart’s “90% is going to get approved in 2025” projection on Litecoin ETF signals strong market and regulatory support for a Litecoin ETF. He explained that Litecoin checks a lot of regulatory boxes thanks to its history and reliability.
From his vantage point at Bloomberg, Seyffart said the SEC is slowly warming up to more crypto ETFs. Still, things are moving slower than many in the industry would like. He pointed to internal delays at the agency, adding:
“We talk about October being the timeline that we think a Litecoin ETF could get approved.” But he left some room for surprises: “Slim chance that we could see some of these single, uh, coin ETFs actually get approved some point in July,” though he made it clear this isn’t his base case.
The conversation widened beyond Litecoin to the broader ETF space. Seyffart mentioned the sheer volume of filings happening now, over 80, and even joked, “There’s literally a 2x Melania filing out there.”
But despite all the noise, he remained bullish on Litecoin’s path forward: “Where I do think is, the line is not going to be stopping Litecoin.”
He also brought up a notable comment from Hashdex’s Bruno Caratori, who called Litecoin “the non-controversial part of this framework,” highlighting its comparatively clean reputation among regulators and investors.
Seyffart wrapped his view with a confident prediction: “Litecoin ETF, matter of when, not if, and it’s going to happen this year,” adding that it’s “very likely in its own standalone” form.
Then came insights from Steven McClurg, who’s been directly involved in the ETF filing process. Valkyrie, he noted, was “the first people to file for the Litecoin ETF in the US,” and there were two big reasons behind that move.
First, he said: “Charlie getting involved in the Litecoin Foundation again. I thought that that was pretty significant, and, you know, it brings so much to the Litecoin community.” And second: “Gensler gave a speech where he said that Bitcoin, ETH, and Litecoin are not securities.”
That speech, McClurg said, gave his team confidence early on. “We already received, you know, I would say, just positive response from, uh, regulators on the Litecoin ETF from under Gensler.” But things have stalled since, largely due to a shake-up at the SEC. He added, “It took a long time to confirm the new SEC chair.”
Despite the delays, McClurg said he’s confident: “Outside of that framework being published, I’ve got no doubt that Litecoin will be the next ETF to launch.”
On the demand side, he believes Litecoin is underestimated. Thanks to its visibility over the years and retail-friendly price point, McClurg sees huge potential. “For years, CNBC has had three tickers, Bitcoin, ETH, Litecoin,” he said.
And from a psychology standpoint, “Bitcoin is about $100,000, and Litecoin is about $100, and, psychologically, investors are going to say, ‘Oh, it’s a cheaper Bitcoin. I’m going to buy it.”
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