This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
Investors are going to have to wait a bit longer for a Solana ETF.
In a filing earlier today, the SEC said it had not “reached any conclusions” on the NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list Grayscale’s spot SOL ETF. This was an expected outcome: The SEC has 240 days from when it first acknowledges a 19b-4 filing to reach a final decision. In Grayscale’s case, that would set a final deadline sometime in October.
Like anyone with a deadline, the SEC appears likely to get closer to the due date before finishing its work.
The Polymarket odds for spot Solana ETFs’ approval in 2025 fell from 89% to 80% a little before 8:00 am ET. Interestingly, this trading swing came several hours before news aggregators started posting about the SEC filing. The ETF approval odds were back up to 82% at the time of publication.
SOL was unaffected by the news and is up 5% on the day.
Spot Solana ETF filings began emerging in the waning months of the Biden presidency, where a Gary Gensler-led SEC reportedly rejected 19b-4 filings, which are filed by exchanges. Analysts portrayed the fact that Trump’s SEC acknowledged the filing for an ETF containing Solana — which the prior regime called a security — as newsworthy.
Trump has promised to make America the “crypto capital of the world.” Many believe a Solana ETF fits squarely into that vision — and SEC approval is only a matter of time.
The bigger question now, I suppose, is how popular spot SOL ETFs will wind up being. The Solana investment vehicle du jour is currently treasury plays like DeFi Development Corporation, which has already purchased more than $100 million in SOL a few weeks after launching.
When I interviewed its new executives, the publicly-traded real estate software company that now buys a ton of Solana said it sees the Strategy-like play as superior to ETFs. That’s partly because even if staked SOL ETFs gain regulatory approval — which is no guarantee — they would likely not be able to stake their entire balance and may also have to pay Coinbase validator fees.
Multiple other companies have now followed Sol Strategies’ lead in trying to capture Michael Saylor’s bitcoin magic on Solana.
So while the SEC takes its time on deciding whether Solana ETFs should trade in the US, the investment landscape may be shifting beneath its feet.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
