SEC Hits Pause on Solana ETF: Crypto’s Next Big Bet Stuck in Regulatory Limbo

The SEC just slammed the brakes on Solana's ETF ambitions—delaying what could've been crypto's next mainstream breakthrough. Wall Street's favorite blockchain faces another bureaucratic speed bump.

Regulators tap the brakes

No surprise here—the SEC's decision delay keeps Solana ETFs in purgatory. The move comes as institutional interest in SOL reaches fever pitch, with trading volumes consistently topping $2B daily. Yet regulators still treat crypto like a teenager asking for the car keys.

The SOL conundrum

Solana's blistering 300% year-to-date rally now faces its toughest test: convincing gray-haired bureaucrats that a blockchain famous for meme coins deserves Wall Street's stamp of approval. Meanwhile, TradFi dinosaurs still think 'proof-of-history' is a history textbook chapter.

When lambo? Not yet

With no new decision deadline set, SOL bulls are left watching the ticker—and the regulatory calendar. The delay sparks déjà vu: remember when Bitcoin ETFs took a decade? At this rate, we'll have quantum computing before a SOL ETF. But hey—at least the SEC's printer works overtime on rejection letters.

Solana ETF: Is approval likely?

While the unpredictable nature of the regulatory commission makes predicting a verdict challenging, industry Optimism is high. In June, Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas placed the odds of approval at 90%, later raising them to 95%.

Commenting on the latest delay, Seyffart maintained that the ETFs are likely to be approved by the October deadline, with further pushbacks considered unlikely. Heightened engagement between the commission and issuers, including a wave of recent amendments, supports the outlook, suggesting productive dialogue is taking place behind the scenes.

We're expecting standard spot Solana ETFs to be approved by mid October at latest

Beyond the four delayed proposals, several other asset managers are also vying to launch Solana ETFs. The list includes VanEck, Grayscale, CoinShares, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity, each with their various products. The SEC also recently acknowledged the latest filing from Invesco Galaxy, adding it to the roster of potential issuers.

So far, the outlook for a positive verdict is strong, but whether the SEC will ultimately greenlight the products or reject them remains uncertain.