SEC is 'engaging' Solana ETF applicants: report

The prospects for spot Solana exchange-traded funds are progressing, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "now engaging" on S-1 applications, according to Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett, citing two people familiar with the matter.

"The filing of the 19b4’s does not guarantee an approval by the SEC," Terrett said Thursday morning in a post on X. "Indeed, previous 19b4 filings from VanEck and 21Shares were taken down from the CBOE’s website in August with some industry participants speculating the reason was that the agency under @GaryGensler was not inclined to approve such listings."

A source at one issuer confirmed to The Block the SEC has started engaging with them on the matter.

Equity exchange Cboe BZX on Thursday afternoon filed four applications for spot Solana ETFs, marking progress as firms look to get the SEC's sign-off. The exchange filed 19b-4 filings for proposals from VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise Asset Management and Canary Capital.

Fund manager VanEck was the first to file for a Solana ETF on June 27, shortly after the SEC approved 19b-4 forms for spot Ethereum ETFs. VanEck's filing was followed by 21Shares and Canary Capital filed for a Solana ETF on Oct. 30. On Wednesday, a Bitwise Solana ETF was registered in Delaware, which signaled its intent to file an official S-1.

"Big q tho is will the SEC acknowledge these (in two weeks) or tell them to withdrawal like last time? Our read: CBOE is simply pushing envelope, optimistic that a lame duck SEC will ack filings in routine manner until the new (more accommodative) leadership is installed," Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on X. "But even then, lawsuits that mention Solana as a security would have to be dropped first. All this is pretty poss but it is being driven more by hope than some signal from the Staff."

According to Terrett, these issuers have indicated recent engagement from staff and an incoming pro-crypto White House administration has fueled renewed optimism for the potential approval of a Solana ETF in 2025.

"Solana's robust DeFi ecosystem has led to strong sustained on-chain analytics as measured by transactions per day, active addresses and new addresses, while maintaining a low fee environment for all consumers," crypto investment firm Canary Capital said in a previous statement.

The price of SOL, the native token of the Solana blockchain, is up 4.6% to $247.91 over the past 24 hours, according to The Block's SOL price page. The world's fourth-largest cryptocurrency has a $116 billion market cap.

The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs to begin trading in January, followed by eight spot Ethereum ETFs approved for trading in July.

Updated at 5:45 p.m. to include Cboe filings and additional comments.

Updated at 12:22 p.m. ET to include source comment.