Fidelity, Franklin Prep Solana ETFs with Staking

In the crypto ETF world, there’s a lot at stake.

Eight asset managers have filed or refiled Solana ETF trusts with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the past several days. The barrage of filings suggest that the regulator has been in talks with the firms about their proposals. Amended documents often indicate that companies are incorporating changes that the SEC wants to see — and the development hints that spot Solana ETFs may be approved relatively soon. 

“Crypto filings generally see some back-and-forth conversation with the SEC, but it seems like Solana ETFs have a high probability of being approved within the next few months, according to precedent set by previous crypto products,” said Roxanna Islam, head of sector and industry research at TMX VettaFi.

Table Stakes

The recent filings have been updated to allow the proposed Solana ETFs to stake a portion of their shares. Staking, in which owners pledge tokens that are used to help secure the network, allows owners to get rewards in the form of more Solana. While the SEC recently expressed concerns with a pair of proposed Ethereum and Solana ETFs that would use staking, the agency’s Division of Corporation Finance has also commented that staking does not amount to a securities offering under the Securities Act of 1933.

The proposed Solana ETFs come from a variety of issuers:

• Five that would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange include products from Fidelity, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, and 21Shares.
• The Grayscale Solana ETF would trade on NYSE Arca, while the Coinshares Solana ETF would trade on the Nasdaq.
• The Canary Marinade Solana ETF did not specify which exchange it would use.

Stake Through the Heart: “Ethereum ETFs were denied staking when they were first launched, but since then have filed for staking approval,” Islam said. “While the SEC has not yet approved staking for Ethereum ETFs, it’s possible it could potentially be approved alongside Solana ETFs.”