What’s the big deal with a Solana ETF?

Probably the most-talked about things in the crypto industry right now are exchange-traded funds (ETFs). With spot Ether ETFs hitting the U.S. markets, everyone’s asking: “What’s the next big crypto to get its own ETF?”

The buzzword? Solana. This cryptocurrency is known for being a speedy and cost-effective rival to Ethereum, capable of handling large transaction volumes like those in traditional finance.

Recently, Franklin Templeton called SOL one of the “exciting and major developments that we believe will drive the crypto space forward.” The token has a market cap of $82 billion, making it the fifth-largest cryptocurrency.

Solana’s reputation has improved dramatically from two years ago, when it was plagued by frequent outages and linked to Sam Bankman-Fried. Now, it’s drawing interest from different crowds.

All eyes on Solana

Solana is now the go-to platform for launching meme tokens. These quirky cryptoassets are often based on internet memes or parodies of public figures. 

For instance, tokens related to Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have seen a lot of trading action following the latter vacating the Democratic ticket for the former. Solana’s blockchain can handle these high volumes efficiently.

But it’s not all fun and games. SOL is also being used for serious financial activities, like tokenizing real-world assets. Just this week, Hamilton Lane, a major investment manager, launched a private credit fund on the Solana blockchain.

BUT, are we gonna see a Solana ETF? Well. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has to decide on this by March next year. Companies like VanEck and 21Shares have already filed applications for a spot SOL ETF.

There’s optimism because the SEC recently approved ether ETFs, something many thought wouldn’t happen. The approval came after the SEC stopped ETF issuers from earning returns, which seemed to resolve their concerns.

However, getting a Solana ETF approved isn’t guaranteed. The SEC has been cautious with spot Bitcoin ETFs because of worries about market manipulation. 

Bitcoin and Ether have futures markets at the CME, which helped ease these concerns, but SOL doesn’t have that yet. 

Some analysts believe that there needs to be an acceptable surveyable market for the SEC to gauge SOL on. On top of that, the SEC has made it clear that SOL is an unregistered security in its eyes.