In the meantime, analysts imagine that approval of spot Solana ETFs within the U.S. is unlikely below the present administration.
Brazil’s securities regulator, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), has given the inexperienced mild for a second spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In accordance with a submitting on the CVM web site, the brand new Solana ETF shall be provided by Brazil-based asset supervisor Hashdex and is at present in a “pre-operational” stage.
The transfer follows Brazil’s approval on August 8 of its first Solana ETF, overseen by QR Asset, a Brazilian asset administration agency, and managed by Vortx, a service supplier for fund operations.
In the meantime, within the U.S., efforts to launch spot SOL ETFs have hit roadblocks.
In June, Asset managers VanEck and 21Shares filed for spot Solana ETFs following the SEC’s approval of spot Ethereum ETFs.
However Solana bulls’ hopes had been dashed on August 16 when the Chicago Board Choices Alternate (CBOE) eliminated the 19b-4 filings for 2 proposed Solana ETFs from its “Pending Rule Adjustments” web page. Some speculated that these filings had been pulled attributable to issues from the Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) over Solana’s classification as a safety.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart explains that when an change just like the CBOE recordsdata the preliminary 19b-4 utility with the SEC, the regulator additionally posts the submitting on its web site.
For example, the CBOE filed a Solana ETF 19b-4 on July 8. Sometimes, round 14 days later, the SEC posts the 19b-4 submitting on its web site, formally beginning the clock for regulatory assessment. This step is essential as a result of it units particular deadlines for the SEC to decide. Nonetheless, on this case, the Solana ETF submitting was by no means posted to the SEC web site.
One other Bloomberg ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, claimed that the filings by no means appeared on the SEC’s web site. “A snowball’s likelihood in hell of approval except there is a change in management,” Balchunas tweeted.
He instructed that the result of the presidential election might affect the way forward for Solana ETFs within the U.S. “Sure, near-zero likelihood in 2024, and if Harris wins, there’s most likely near-zero likelihood in 2025 too,” he added. “Solely hope imo is that if Trump wins.”
Nate Geraci, president of ETFStore, shared comparable skepticism. “Solana ETF not taking place anytime quickly below the present administration,” he tweeted on Aug. 17.
Geraci believes that the approval of a Solana ETF would rely upon Solana being categorised as a commodity moderately than a safety.
Is Solana a Commodity?
VanEck’s Head of Digital Belongings Analysis, Matthew Sigel, says his agency nonetheless believes Solana is a commodity — much like Bitcoin.
“This perception is knowledgeable by evolving authorized views, the place courts and regulators have begun to acknowledge that sure crypto property might perform as securities in main markets however behave extra like commodities in secondary markets,” Sigel tweeted on Aug. 20.
Classifying cryptocurrencies as both securities or commodities is essential for regulatory functions. Securities embody shares, bonds, and derivatives, representing possession or creditor relationships, and are regulated by the SEC. Securities should meet the factors outlined within the Howey Check, which defines a safety as an funding the place income are anticipated primarily from the efforts of others.
However, commodities embody uncooked supplies and first agricultural merchandise, of which buying and selling is regulated by the CFTC. Commodities are interchangeable and fungible, that means they are often swapped with different items of the identical sort.
Solana ETF ‘Unlikely’ within the U.S.
Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Analysis, informed The Defiant {that a} spot Solana ETF approval within the U.S. appears unlikely.
“The possibilities of a Solana ETF approval within the US are extremely restricted, contemplating the character of the nation’s ETF market,” stated Lee. “It’s usually thought-about not possible for a spot ETF to go stay and not using a futures-related product going stay first.”
He added that Solana is comparatively new and lacks the infrastructure for conventional finance hedging, not like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“The SEC might classify SOL as a safety, thus limiting its possibilities of getting an ETF itemizing,” Lee added.
A number of standards should be met for an ETF to achieve approval, together with wholesome liquidity, decentralization, resistance to cost manipulation, and regulatory classification of the underlying asset.
