Senate Moves to Reopen Government, Clearing Path for Crypto Action
Deal could jumpstart SEC approvals, rulemakings, and markups in Congress
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: What the government reopening means for crypto, the status of XRP spot ETFs, and what’s on our radar this week.
Senators voted Sunday night to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed with a funding measure to reopen the government after reaching a bipartisan deal that could end the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
If you don’t remember what “invoking cloture” means from the days of navigating arcane Senate procedure around the GENIUS Act, it basically means enough Senate Democrats (seven, plus Independent Angus King of Maine) joined their Republican counterparts to reach the 60 votes needed to break the weeks-long stalemate and advance to a final vote, possibly as soon as today.
If the vote passes, the House, in recess since the shutdown began last month, would return to pass the amended bill, putting the government on track to reopen by the end of the week and closing the book on the shutdown, now at 40 days and counting.
Crypto markets got a boost after news of the Senate’s deal, which funds the government through January 30, rolls back recent federal layoffs, and secures a December vote on extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits.
Bitcoin jumped over 4% to $106,200, Ethereum rose 7.7% to $3,629, and XRP, which could see its first spot ETF come to market on Thursday, surged 9.7% to $2.47.
The rally follows a dismal week for crypto, weighed down by weak retail sentiment, large outflows from crypto ETFs, and fears of overvaluation in big tech and AI, which pushed investors toward safer, risk-off assets.
The reopening of the government also paves the way for a potential surge of activity from the SEC, which has been unable to carry out day-to-day functions for over a month. This could include ETF approvals, official crypto rulemakings, and possibly the innovation exemption touted by SEC Chair Paul Atkins, which would let market participants experiment with digital assets before formal rulemaking. Expect to see activity from the CFTC and other crypto-adjacent agencies, including the OCC.
Additionally, reopening the government means the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees could, in theory, schedule markups for their respective market structure bills, though neither has yet released the necessary text. With only one week left in session before Thanksgiving, markups will likely be delayed until December.
The Senate Ag Committee will also be able to schedule a confirmation hearing for CFTC Chair nominee Mike Selig, who is set to take over the agency and replace Acting Chair Caroline Pham.
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👀 What To Watch This Week
Monday
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) plans to launch perpetual Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts, giving U.S. traders continuous market exposure to both assets.
Cantor Fitzgerald is hosting its Crypto and AI/Energy Infrastructure Conference in Miami through Wednesday, featuring speakers including Eric Trump, Michael Saylor, Caroline Pham, Kevin O’Leary and the Winklevoss twins.
7:30 PM: John Deaton, former U.S. Senate candidate, will make a special announcement in Worcester, MA.
Tuesday
🇺🇸 Happy Veterans Day!
Mining Disrupt, one of the largest Bitcoin mining conferences, kicks off in Dallas, Texas, and runs through Thursday.
Wednesday
10:20 AM: Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak on payments at the Ninth Annual Fintech Conference, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
Thursday
9:30 AM: Canary Capital’s XRP spot ETF could start trading on the Nasdaq.
Wall Street’s First XRP Spot ETF Could Launch This Week
Canary Capital’s XRP spot ETF could be the first of its kind on Wall Street, with a Nasdaq debut set for Thursday at market open.
The launch would follow Canary’s modification of its S‑1 filing, removing the “delaying amendment” that gives the SEC discretion over when the registration becomes effective. This leverages the 20-day statutory waiting period under Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, which makes a registration statement effective 20 days after filing unless the SEC declares it effective sooner — the same approach Bitwise and Grayscale used to launch their Solana ETFs last month.
If Nasdaq approves the listing this week, the $XRPC ETF could, in theory, launch Thursday at 9:30 AM ET. Of course, we’re in uncharted territory with the government shutdown and the unprecedented way these products are hitting the market.
Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the XRP ETF applications didn’t go through the same back-and-forth comment period between issuers and the SEC as the Solana ETFs, which usually signals the regulator is satisfied the products are ready for launch. With the government still potentially shut down on Thursday, $XRPC could still launch under the auto-effective method, even if SEC staff haven’t finished reviewing comments.
The move would mark a pivotal moment in the coming-of-age story of the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, whose price and sentiment have been affected for years by the SEC’s enforcement action against Ripple, the company that uses XRP as a core part of its enterprise payments business.
“SEC had open litigation against Ripple for the past five years, up until three months ago,” said Nate Geraci, President of NovaDius Wealth Management, in an X post. “IMO, the launch of spot XRP ETFs represents the final nail in the coffin for previous anti-crypto regulators.”
Current SEC Chair Paul Atkins has taken a far more crypto-friendly approach than his predecessors, rolling back enforcement actions and introducing new listing standards to speed up crypto ETF approvals.
Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares have all filed amended S-1 registrations for their XRP spot ETFs, putting them on track to debut before the end of the month. Like Bitwise did with BSOL 0.00%↑, Canary will have a first-mover advantage if it gets the green light to roll out $XRPC on Thursday.
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