- VanEck has filed for a spot Solana ETF.
- The move comes as spot Ethereum ETFs could launch any day now.
- It may signal that regulators and politicians are warming up to crypto.
VanEck filed an application to launch a spot Solana exchange-traded fund Thursday, becoming the first asset manager to do so.
The ETF application claims that Solana’s SOL token should be treated as a commodity, and not a security as the Securities and Exchanges Commission has previously argued.
“We believe the native token, SOL, functions similarly to other digital commodities such as Bitcoin and Ether,” VanEck head of digital assets research Matthew Sigel said in an X post shortly after the filing was made public.
Sigel said the broad range of applications and services supported by the Solana ecosystem underscores SOL’s utility and value as a digital commodity.
VanEck’s S-1 form names the proposed ETF as the “VanEck Solana Trust,” and says the firm will custody the SOL held in the ETF itself.
VanEck’s application arrived as the crypto community is awaiting the SEC to give a smattering of spot Ethereum ETFs the green light any day now, which market watchers hope will enable it to repeat some of the success from the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.
To some, the application signals that VanEck is betting on a perceived mood-swing in DC, with both Joe Biden and Donald Trump having seemingly eased their crypto stances lately.
No futures market?
VanEck’s application to launch a Solana spot ETF is unprecedented.
The SEC has previously argued that no spot crypto ETFs can be listed on US exchanges until there is a highly correlated, regulated futures market for the corresponding asset.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler first signalled he would approve spot Bitcoin ETFs on August 3 2021, when Bitcoin futures outstanding interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange stood $1.3 billion, an ETF issuer told DL News.
When the SEC signalled approval for an Ethereum ETF in May, Ether futures outstanding interest was around $700 million.
Solana, however, does not have a regulated US-based futures market.
If VanEck is successful, Solana’s SOL will become the third crypto asset to get its own spot ETF behind Bitcoin and Ether.
A change of heart
VanEck’s confidence in filing for a Solana spot ETF may be more evidence of the softening stance of regulators ahead of the US election.
After months of radio silence, the SEC seemed poised to deny eight spot Ethereum ETF applications ahead of the May 23 deadline.
But days before, the agency U-turned on its approach and began frantically communicating with prospective ETF issuers, and even told concerned exchanges that it was leaning toward approving the products.
Analysts attribute the approvals to a shift in attitude from Democratic Party leadership as crypto becomes more politicised in the runup to the November election.
Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Trump recently endorsed the crypto industry.
Tim Craig is a DeFi Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tim@dlnews.com.
