The US government has shut down due to Congress’ inability to agree on a spending bill, significantly impacting operations at key financial regulators.
Why it matters: The shutdown is expected to delay the processing of initial public offerings (IPOs) and may dampen investor sentiment. Analysts warn that the absence of economic data could lead to increased asset price volatility as market participants lack the information needed to make informed decisions.
The details:
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) furloughed over 90% of its workforce, drastically reducing its ability to perform essential functions.
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is operating with just 5.7% of its staff, severely limiting its capacity.
- The SEC is operating under a contingency plan set in August, which allows for an “extremely limited number of staff” and modified operating conditions.
- The agency will halt the review of registration applications and will not engage in non-emergency rulemaking or oversight of self-regulatory organizations.
Cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications that are awaiting approval will likely be delayed as the agency’s electronic filing system continues to accept submissions but under modified conditions. Several Solana ETFs, for instance, might see delays in approval due to the shutdown.
The impact on IPOs:
- US IPOs are now mostly on hold, with the SEC’s barebones staff focusing on market oversight and fraud prevention until operations fully resume.
- Companies like Ethos, among others, that recently filed to join the market, have seen their IPOs put on hold.
- A small number of companies that have already priced their IPOs will be able to proceed, such as the FTV Capital-backed flood insurance company Neptune, which raised $368 million for its offering on Tuesday.
The bigger picture: US IPOs just had their best quarter in years, according to PitchBook data, generating $36.4 billion in exit value—a 2,861% increase over the previous year. Globally, IPOs have generated $88.1 billion so far this year.
What’s next: The duration of the shutdown will determine the extent of its impact on financial markets and IPO activity. The last and longest US government shutdown began in December 2018 and lasted 35 days. This latest shutdown is the second-earliest into a president’s term in office.
Recent from X
Due to the government shutdown, this page is not being regularly updated.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 2, 2025
#NewsAlert | White House warns of mass layoffs as US government shutdown intensifies#USPolitics #GovernmentShutdown #Shutdown2025 pic.twitter.com/gkFYe2SUPQ
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) October 3, 2025
#MarketAlert | US markets still near record high, despite first government shutdown in 7 years
These are the other updates👇#USA #DowJones #Nasdaq #SnP #Shutdown2025 pic.twitter.com/MxMJA0aNzB
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) October 2, 2025
