Breaking: Solana Spot ETF Approval Racing Ahead of Predictions—Here’s Why
Wall Street’s slow-motion embrace of crypto just got a turbo boost. Regulatory whispers suggest Solana’s spot ETF—dismissed as a 2026 play by analysts—could land on trading desks months early. The blockchain’s institutional-grade speed and post-FTX resilience finally got the SEC’s attention.
Why the sudden urgency? Rumor has it BlackRock’s algo traders threatened to revolt if forced to keep pretending they enjoy settling Ethereum transactions. Meanwhile, crypto natives smirk as TradFi scrambles to claim they ‘always believed’ in SOL—just ignore their 2023 research reports calling it a ‘Sam Coin.’
The kicker? Approval could hit before Q4. That’s right—while pension funds are still ‘evaluating’ Bitcoin exposure, hedge funds might be front-running them on Solana derivatives. The ultimate irony for an asset class that was supposed to democratize finance.
Solana Poised To Become 3rd Spot Crypto ETF
The “pressure” originates with the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF (ticker SSK). Organised under the Investment Company Act of 1940, SSK became effective automatically in the absence of an SEC objection and began trading on 2 July, gathering about $12 million on its first day. Its stealth debut gives it a first-mover advantage the agency has previously tried to neutralise by approving competing crypto funds simultaneously, as it did for spot Bitcoin and ether ETFs.
Meanwhile, the SEC is redrawing its broader rulebook for digital-asset ETPs. A 12-page guidance document issued last week outlines disclosure expectations for custody, staking rewards and market-manipulation safeguards; staff are now drafting a universal template meant to replace the bespoke FORM 19b-4 waivers that have governed every prior spot-crypto ETF listing. “The SEC is looking for a general rule it can apply to all listings, and currently is going back and forth on precise wording with the exchanges,” a senior executive involved in those talks said, adding that the template could cut approval windows to roughly seventy-five days.
Analysts on X read the accelerating correspondence as constructive. “MORE delays. Fidelity’s Solana ETF filing was just delayed as expected. We’re still waiting for some sort of movement from the SEC on a generalized digital asset ETP framework,” Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart wrote after one such procedural hold. Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, echoed that view, noting that Reuters had confirmed the framework effort and cautioning that some issuers do not expect actual approvals “until early fall.”
Even if the template is not finalised before September, lawyers stress nothing prevents the Commission from clearing a Solana fund under existing rules in August. In parallel with the paperwork revisions, staff are assessing whether Solana’s market is “sufficiently resistant to manipulation” and whether the CME’s SOL futures provide an adequate surveillance substitute—tests bitcoin and Ether passed in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Six issuers—VanEck, Fidelity, 21Shares, Ark/21Co, Bitwise and Hashdex—have spot Solana proposals on file. An approval ahead of 10 October would make Solana only the third crypto asset with a US spot ETF and could set a precedent for pending XRP, Litecoin and Dogecoin filings.
Market-makers are already bracing for a condensed launch calendar. If the agency signs off in late August, it can be expected that the products will list within days of each other; after the bitcoin experience, speed to market meant everything. Whether that starting gun fires weeks—or months—ahead of schedule now hinges on how quickly the SEC reconciles the twin pressures of policy consistency and competitive fairness in the wake of SSK’s surprise head start.
At press time, SOL traded at $148.93.
