The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is studying a more orderly approval framework for exchange-traded funds that may include confidential filings, a senior official revealed. Brian Daly of the SEC’s Investment Management Division told Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas that the agency is actively working on a process to protect product innovation and reduce copycat behavior. The SEC currently handles roughly 200 ETF applications each month, a volume that has strained the regulatory filing office.
Daly explained that the goal is twofold: safeguard the intellectual property embedded in novel strategies and curb the wave of me-too filings that frequently follow a single innovative proposal. Under the current public filing system, details become immediately visible, erasing any first-mover advantage. A confidential path—similar to how the SEC handles draft IPO registrations—would give issuers time to refine products before competitors jump in. Daly specifically noted that the 200 monthly applications include prediction market products, which sit at the intersection of financial innovation and political sensitivity.
The push for a modernized process comes amid a surge in ETF applications from aggressive new entrants. Balchunas highlighted that Corgi, a rising ETF issuer, files for around 25 new ETFs each day. On July 2, 2026, Corgi submitted a batch focused on 2x stock strategies, following earlier filings for vanilla beta funds. This pace could soon see Corgi surpassing BlackRock’s current 487 ETFs. The competitive landscape is intensifying as firms vie for investor interest, potentially leading to lower fees and more innovative products.
For crypto-native issuers, confidential treatment would not mean less oversight but would allow engagement with SEC staff without immediately tipping their hand to the entire market. This is critical when structuring products around volatile assets or complex custody arrangements. If formalized, the approach could accelerate the next wave of crypto ETFs—beyond just bitcoin and ether—covering staking, basket indices, or on-chain yield strategies. The development lands against a backdrop of rapid institutionalization, where tokenization of real-world assets and demand for regulated wrappers are growing.
However, many details remain uncertain. It is unclear whether confidential treatment would be discretionary or automatic, how long the quiet period would last, and what standards would trigger public disclosure. Smaller crypto firms could find themselves locked out if the rules favor only the largest asset managers. Despite these open questions, the signal is clear: the SEC understands its current process is not scaling, and a more orderly system could be the quiet structural fix that shapes the next era of ETF launches.
