A quick look at the 8 players competing to list Solana spot ETFs
Original author: Blockworks
Original compilation: Felix, PANews
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) appears to be in its final stages, with the initial seven potential issuers filing revised S-1 filings in recent days, and a new entrant, namely CoinShares, joining the fray.
It is worth noting that each document contains content about staking, and as previously reported, the SEC requires issuers to include such content.
As the crypto industry prepares for a third crypto-asset ETF that could be approved by the SEC, here are eight companies that have applied for the issuance of Solana ETFs, in order of first filing:
VanEck
VanEck was the first company to apply for the Solana ETF, about a year ago this month. At the time, while the SEC insisted that Solana was a security, some compared the filing to a call option on Trump's victory in the November election.
The bet paid off, but it could have been a pyrrhic victory if the SEC had followed its lead and approved both Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) instead of in the order in which applications were filed.
The bet paid off, but it could have been a pyrrhic win if the SEC followed the precedent and approved Bitcoin and Ether ETFs all at once, rather than in the order in which issuers filed their applications first.
To this end, VanEck has been advocating for the SEC to adopt a "first-to-file" principle, arguing that it is more conducive to innovation and competition.
VanEck leverages Kiln to provide Solana staking services for its European exchange-traded products (ETPs).
Related Reading: Institutional Entry, Tokenized Equities and the Liquidity Revolution: VanEck Investment Managers Look Ahead to the Future of Crypto Markets
21 Shares
Two days after VanEck's filing, 21 Shares also filed an application for the Solana ETF, and it also hopes that the SEC will adopt a "first-to-file" principle.
The Core Solana ETF of the 21 Shares program will be traded on the Cboe BZX exchange, and redemption will take place in the form of SOL tokens.
Coinbase is listed as a staking service provider mentioned in 21 Shares' underlying prospectus filed in Europe.
Related reading: Spot ETF will land as soon as July, can Solana repeat the BTC playbook?
Canary Capital
Canary Capital filed an application for the SOL ETF a few days before the U.S. election.
Canary Capital is smaller than some of the funds on the list, but has recently gained prominence by applying for multiple altcoin ETFs. Its ETF applications have been filed include SUI, SEI, INJ, TRX, PENGU, HBAR, LTC, and XRP, among others.
Related reading: Canary Capital frequently submits ETF applications, and copycat ETF applications become a disguised advertising business?
Bitwise
Bitwise first applied for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) shortly after Trump's election. In an interview, the company's CEO, Hunter Horsley, called Solana an "incredibly emerging asset and story."
Bitwise also launched a Solana-based staking ETP in December, with Marinade providing staking services. If the U.S. approves staking ETFs, this could bode well for Marinade.
Related Reading: Bitwise CIO: A former skeptic, now wants to buy BTC too
Grayscale
Grayscale is looking to convert its SOL trust into a spot ETF, similar to how its Bitcoin and Ether trusts are handled. Currently, the GSOL Trust is trading at a premium to its net asset value, which means that investors are willing to pay a higher price for the product than the underlying SOL.
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission postponed its decision on Grayscale's exchange-traded funds (ETFs), saying it had not yet "reached any conclusions" on the 19 b-4 application documents for the cash SOL ETF to be listed.
Related reading: Grayscale Selection's latest report: Q1 list underperforms, Q2 focuses on RWA, DePIN, and IP tokenization
Franklin Templeton
Franklin Templeton Investments offers exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin and Ether and has submitted application documents for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for SOL and XRP.
The $1.5 trillion fund has a number of other crypto-related initiatives, and its digital asset core SMA also has a small allocation to SOL. Its tokenized money market fund also increased its support for Solana earlier this year.
The $1.5 trillion fund also invests in a number of other crypto projects, and its crypto segregated managed account (SMA) also has a small allocation to SOL. Its tokenized money market fund was also backed by Solana earlier this year.
Related reading: Behind the "undervalued" Solana DeFi: How to break the "ecological internal friction" between high-yield staking and lending protocols?
Fidelity
In the current competition, Fidelity is the giant. Its Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are second only to BlackRock in terms of AUM, while its Ethereum ETFs lag behind BlackRock and Grayscale's conversion trusts.
Fidelity, a leading provider of brokerage, trust, and IRA accounts, is likely to be a major driver of inflows into approved SOL exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Related Reading: The State of the Copycat ETF Boom: A Closer Look at 2025 Crypto ETF Applications
CoinShares
CoinShares is the latest company to join the Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) race, joining the fray as existing issuers race to file revised Form S-1s.
The crypto-focused European asset manager has now launched an ETP for BTC, ETH, and a range of altcoins – Tezos ETP, anyone want to try it?
The crypto-focused European asset manager has launched exchange-traded products (ETPs) for BTC, ETH, and a range of altcoins.