VanEck has made a significant move by filing an S-1 document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create a spot Solana ETF. This application has sparked reactions across the crypto community. According to the document, VanEck’s Solana ETF is named the VanEck Solana Trust. If approved, it will trade on the Cboe BZX platform. The fund will not involve SOL staking, with all shares sold and redeemed only for cash.
VanEck is a pioneer in offering investors access to international markets, gold, emerging markets, and ETFs. The firm has already launched a Bitcoin ETF and plans to introduce its own Ethereum ETF. However, this Solana ETF filing is the company’s first and only for this cryptocurrency.
Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research, explained the decision to launch a Solana ETF. He highlighted scalability, high speed, and low fees as key factors providing a better user experience. “We believe the native token, SOL, functions similarly to other digital commodities such as bitcoin and ETH. It is utilized to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the blockchain,” Sigel stated. He added that VanEck is confident in SOL’s utility for a broad audience, including investors, developers, and business people looking to diversify their portfolios.
VanEck has entered the race to launch a spot Solana ETF amid anticipation of a similar fund for Ethereum. Preliminary estimates suggest that investors may have access to it in July. The SEC has dropped its claims against the Ethereum project, raising hopes for approval. VanEck is confident that SOL does not violate U.S. securities laws, believing the SEC has no reason to refuse the launch of the spot Solana ETF.
GSR Markets analysts predict that the Solana spot ETF will absorb 2% to 5% of Bitcoin funds in bear market and benchmark scenarios, respectively. This could increase Solana’s price by 1.4 to 3.4 times. The report highlights Solana’s growth potential, with a significant increase in market value and price.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas cautioned that the chances of launching spot Solana ETFs might fall because the list of investment instruments for SOL is inferior to Ethereum. However, a change in the American president could lead to the liberalization of the crypto industry, making Solana ETFs more likely to be approved by 2025. FOX journalist Eleanor Terrett noted that SOL has not been traded in a regulated futures market, unlike BTC and ETH, so approval may still be far off. Nonetheless, VanEck can claim it was the first to apply for a U.S. Solana ETF.
Venture capitalist Anthony Pompliano called VanEck’s filing further evidence that altcoins are coming to Wall Street. Analyst Lark Davis is confident that a long-awaited bull run will emerge amid the race to launch new spot altcoin ETFs.
The crypto market awaits a decision on spot Ethereum ETFs, with negotiations between asset managers and regulators in their final stages. However, things are more complicated for the Solana ETF. Since there are no futures ETFs for Solana in the U.S., the road to market approval is more challenging. This difficulty arises from the SEC’s concerns about possible fraud and market manipulation. Consequently, the Solana-based spot ETF faces a tougher journey before it can be admitted to the market.
