Seven Firms Update Solana ETF Filings Amid SEC Staking Guidance
May 15, 2024
All seven firms competing to launch a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) have updated their regulatory filings to incorporate provisions related to staking, according to recent reports.
The revisions follow guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which last week requested changes addressing staking controversies that had previously complicated the approval process.
However, the updates signal neither approval nor imminent launch. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart indicated that issuers face a period of detailed negotiation with the SEC.
“A back and forth is inevitable,” Seyffart stated, noting the extensive “filings over the months” required for the eventual approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which also started with rejections on staking.
Seyffart offered no firm timeline for new approvals but cautiously predicted, “It’s only a matter of time before the US has both Ethereum and Solana staking ETFs.”
All Bitcoin and Solana ETFs face final deadlines in October.
The latest filing updates occur just weeks after the SEC Division of Corporation Finance explicitly clarified that certain staking activities do not constitute securities offerings.
This represents a dramatic reversal from enforcement actions led by former Chair Gary Gensler, who targeted centralized crypto platforms for “allegedly offering unregistered securities.” SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, now heading the Crypto Task Force, referred to the new guidance as a “coherent path forward.”
Open Road
The regulatory shift marks the formal opening of the market for staking-linked exchange-traded products in the U.S.
Both Ethereum and Solana staking products already exist, trading in European markets, including offerings from 21Shares first launched in 2019 and 2021. Despite Ethereum’s larger market cap, data showed the Solana staking product recently gathered nearly double the assets under management, approaching the $1 billion threshold.
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The reversal of SEC staking policy clears the path for U.S.-listed staking ETFs on major cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum and Solana leading the race.
