Momentum Will Return To D.C., Solana Policy Institute President Says

Solana Policy Institute (SPI) head President Kristin Smith believes that “momentum will return” to Washington, D. C., as the ￰0￱ shutdown hits the three-week mark, delaying anticipated crypto ￰1￱ Policy Institute President Speaks Out On Shutdown “We’re several weeks into the federal government shutdown in Washington,” Smith wrote in an October 20 X post. “A disruption, yes. A derailment, ￰2￱ progress—in Washington and on Wall Street—continues.” 1/ We’re several weeks into the federal government shutdown in Washington.

A disruption, yes. A derailment, ￰3￱ progress — in Washington and on Wall Street — continues. — Kristin Smith (@KMSmithDC) October 20, 2025 Although Smith acknowledges that the shutdown has “temporarily paused agency function” at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—including IPO approvals and ETP reviews—the SPI head says the organization expects many of the pending applications will “move forward quickly.” “The next phase of crypto policy will define how—and where—innovation happens,” Smith added. “Washington will ￰4￱ will return.” Crypto ETFs Delayed As SEC Wades Through Shutdown Crypto proponents have expressed concern over the ￰5￱ shutdown’s impact on the crypto sector , with several digital asset ETFs still awaiting approval amidst the political ￰6￱ before the shutdown, the SEC asked candidates to rescind their 19-b filings in favor of generic listing standards that would effectively take over separate ￰7￱ this month from research and consultancy firm ETFGI shows that the ￰8￱ industry hit $12.70 trillion in assets by the end of September, with crypto-focused funds, such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC US) and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH US), bringing in $220 million alone.

However, ￰9￱ are still unable to find a path forward when it comes to ending the federal shutdown after an 11th vote to fund the government failed again on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are slated to meet with top crypto executives in a roundtable on Wednesday in hopes of advancing crypto ￰10￱ political gridlock at a fever pitch, it is still unclear when formal digital asset policymaking will resume on Capitol Hill.