Solana ETF Inches Toward Reality as Grayscale Challenges SEC With Fresh Filing
Note: This post may contain affiliate links, and we may earn a commission (with No additional cost for you) if you purchase via our link. See our disclosure for more info. The gold and crypto world is constantly changing. This is not financial, investment, legal, or professional advice. So, please verify the information on the gold and cryptocurrency provider’s websites.
As major financial institutions line up their Solana ETF applications, the once-distant possibility of SOL joining Bitcoin and Ethereum in the ETF arena appears increasingly likely. The SEC's confirmation of Fidelity's SOL spot ETF filing has kicked off the formal approval process. Not to be outdone, Grayscale filed Form S-1 to convert its existing Solana Trust into an ETF aiming for NYSE Arca listing.
The regulatory wheels are turning. Slowly, of course. It's the SEC, after all. But Polymarket odds for 2025 approval have jumped to 89%, up from 77% earlier this year. That's real money betting on real approval.
Financial heavyweights aren't just watching from the sidelines. Fidelity's “Fidelity SOL Fund” is registered as a Delaware statutory trust. Franklin Templeton, with its $1.5 trillion in assets, wants a synthetic SOL ETF. VanEck, Bitwise, 21Shares, and Canary Capital are all waiting in line too.
The market is clearly ready. SOL's market cap is approaching $100 billion, and futures open interest topped $8 billion in January. Solana DEXs are even outpacing Ethereum in daily volume—$60 million versus $38 million. That's no small feat.
Timeline estimates vary. 21Shares thinks May 2025 is possible for approval, with launches in June. Recent market volatility due to Trump's reciprocal tariffs has tested SOL's resilience amid broader crypto downturns. But the SEC's concerns about SOL's classification as a security versus commodity could throw a wrench in things. Staking complications aren't helping either.
Companies are adapting their strategies accordingly. Grayscale is avoiding direct SOL ownership with a cash-only approach. Grayscale's previous legal victory against the SEC in August 2023 could provide leverage in this new filing. Franklin Templeton's synthetic tracking creates a different path. Both are trying to navigate the SEC's byzantine approval process.
Bloomberg analysts put approval chances at 70% by October 2025. If approved, some predict SOL could hit $1,290, mirroring Bitcoin's ETF performance boost. Political shifts in U.S. crypto policy add another wild card to the mix.
The once-impossible now seems inevitable. Just a matter of when, not if.
