TLDR
- VanEck and 21Shares have filed for Solana (SOL) ETFs with the SEC.
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) submitted 19b-4 filings to list these potential Solana ETFs.
- The SEC has 240 days to make a decision on the Solana ETF applications once they acknowledge receipt.
- Solana’s price jumped over 7% following the news of the ETF filings.
- Analysts suggest the approval of Solana ETFs may depend on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November 2024.
Asset management firms VanEck and 21Shares have filed applications for Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This development, confirmed by filings from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) on July 8, 2024, marks another step in the evolution of crypto-based financial products.
The Cboe, which currently lists six of the ten approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, submitted 19b-4 filings to the SEC, requesting approval to list the proposed Solana ETFs from VanEck and 21Shares. These filings initiate a 240-day window for the SEC to make a decision on the products once they acknowledge receipt of the applications.
Rob Marrocco, global head of ETP listings at Cboe Global Markets, explained the move:
“After successfully listing the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on our exchange and securing SEC approval for our rule filings to list spot Ether ETFs, we are now addressing the increasing investor interest in Solana – the third most actively traded cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and Ether.”
The news of the Solana ETF filings had an immediate impact on the cryptocurrency’s price. Solana (SOL), the fifth-largest digital asset by market capitalization, saw a jump of more than 7% in the 24 hours following the announcement. The trading volume of SOL rose 53.44% to $3.5 billion, with its market cap reaching $66.2 billion.
- Solana Price at Coingecko
In its filings, Cboe drew parallels between Solana and the already-approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. The exchange argued that Solana’s decentralization, throughput, and speed make it resistant to price manipulation, similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum. This resistance to manipulation is a crucial factor in the SEC’s consideration of crypto-based ETFs.
However, the road to approval for Solana ETFs may not be straightforward. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggests that the outcome could heavily depend on the result of the U.S. presidential election in November 2024. Balchunas stated, “Looks like Solana ETFs are going to have a final deadline of mid-March 2025. But between now and then the most [important] date is in November.”
According to Balchunas, if President Joe Biden wins re-election, the Solana ETFs will likely be “dead on arrival.” However, if Donald Trump wins, the possibility of approval increases. This political factor adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the approval process.
The potential impact of Solana ETFs on the cryptocurrency’s price could be significant. A research report by crypto market maker GSR Markets predicted that the approval and subsequent launch of spot Solana ETFs in the United States could potentially drive up the price of SOL by a factor of nine.
It’s worth noting that both VanEck and 21Shares have experience in the crypto ETF space, having recently debuted spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. They are also currently working with the SEC on the approval of spot Ethereum ETF applications.
