A Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) listing in the U.S. could require a change in leadership at the top of the administration and securities regulators, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
On June 27, ETF issuer VanEck took the surprising step of filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a physical Solana (SOL) ETF.
Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research, said the new fund, called the VanEck Solana Trust, aims to leverage Solana’s decentralized nature, high utility, and economic feasibility.
But Balchunas’ “immediate reaction” was to say that the ETF would not be approved because there is no Solana futures ETF in the United States.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) both had futures products before spot ETFs. This is because the SEC was concerned that fraud and market manipulation could potentially impact spot ETF products.
But a new U.S. president and new leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2025 could change both, Balchunas said in a June 27 X post.
“Imagine if Hester Peirce (or someone like him) ran the SEC.”
Jake Chervinsky, Variant Fund’s chief legal officer, supported this view, noting that Peirce’s interpretation of the Securities Exchange Act would be more favorable to applicants for the spot Solana ETF.
The SEC and its chairman, Gary Gensler, classified SOL as a security in its lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase.
Controversy surrounding the success of Solana ETF
But Adam Cochran, a partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, thinks it would have been wiser for VanEck to clarify its claims about SOL’s securitization status before filing for the Solana ETF.
The news received an optimistic response from Bitcoin proponent Anthony Pompliano, who is increasingly interested in the wider cryptocurrency market.
“VanEck’s Solana ETF Application Is Further Evidence That Alternative Coins Are Making inroads on Wall Street.”
But others are less confident.
Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of cryptocurrency trading firm Wintermute, predicts there will be “a small amount of inflow” into the upcoming spot Ether ETF. This forecast suggests that the spot Solana ETF will attract much smaller inflows.
“I’m saying all this while Wintermute is long both SOL and ETH. So no bullshit, let’s be realistic here. Adoption takes time.”
Related: ASX’s first Bitcoin ETF hits $1.3 million volume on first day of trading
This comes just a week after cryptocurrency asset manager 3iQ applied for the Solana spot ETF in Canada, making it the first such offering in North America.
In recent months, $1.5 trillion asset manager Franklin Templeton has also praised the Solana ecosystem and network.
There is already $1 billion worth of Solana exchange-traded products (ETFs) globally, including the 21Shares Solana Staking ETP and the ETC Group Physical Solana product in Europe, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seipart, citing data from June 20. ) is being sold.
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