VanEck, the American investment firm, has filed an S-1 registration form with the SEC to issue SOL ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) in the US. It is the first filing for a SOL ETF in the country. The cryptocurrency’s price saw 8% gains in the 24 hours following the news.
The filing comes six days after another asset manager, 3iQ, filed to issue SOL ETFs in Canada. VanEck is most notably known for filing to offer ETH ETFs in the US in 2021. While it was not approved immediately, the SEC has finally kickstarted the process and will approve ETFs of this asset from multiple issuers very soon. Alongside VanEck, Grayscale, Fidelity, BlackRock, and 21 Shares will witness approval.
VanEck believes the SEC could engage with it and other issuers on SOL ETFs because the cryptocurrency is a commodity and not a security. The SEC previously called ETH a security as well but has now changed its tune.
Mathew Sigel, head of research at VanEck, posted on X, stating, “We believe the native token, SOL, functions similarly to other digital commodities such as #bitcoin and #ETH. It is utilized to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the blockchain. Like ether on the Ethereum network, SOL can be traded on digital asset platforms or used in peer-to-peer transactions.”
He further made his case by mentioning, “SOL’s decentralized nature, high utility, and economic feasibility align with the characteristics of other established digital commodities, reinforcing our belief that SOL may be a valuable commodity with use cases for investors, builders, and entrepreneurs looking for alternatives to the duopoly app stores.”
Analysts claim that SOL ETFs will likely be approved in 2025 if the SEC wants to approve them. The regulator might treat SOL differently than it has BTC and ETH. Many in the industry feel SOL ETF approval is more probable if Donald Trump becomes president.
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