CSC registers 'Fidelity Solana Fund' statutory trust in possible step towards ETF filing

CSC Delaware Trust Company, a subsidiary of business formation specialist CSC, registered a new entity named "Fidelity Solana Fund," according to a filing published Thursday. 

The registration is a possible first step towards a proposal of a Solana exchange-traded product by Fidelity, which also manages the world's second-largest spot Bitcoin ETF, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). FBTC boasts about $16.5 billion in assets under management (AUM), according to The Block's data, and is second only to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust with its $48 billion in AUM. 

A Fidelity spokesperson confirmed the veracity of the filing, but declined to give additional details on whether or not the trust is the first step towards an ETF proposal. 

A number of other asset managers have filed proposals for Solana ETFs, but the SEC applications submitted by VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise and Canary Capital were rejected. "The SEC essentially refused to acknowledge the most recent Solana ETF filings," Bloomberg Analyst James Seyffart previously told The Block.

BlackRock, meanwhile, has stayed mum on the potential for a Solana ETF, with Rachel Aguirre, the head of the U.S. iShares products at the company, recently declining to give specific details on the company's plans regarding Solana-based funds in an interview. 

Two Solana futures ETFs will launch next week via asset manager Volatility Shares, according to the company, which plans to offer the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (ticker SOLZ), which gives investors exposure to Solana futures contracts, and a second fund, Volatility Shares 2X Solana (ticker SOLT), with 2x leverage. 

"We were first to file for these ETFs, which allows us to launch first," Volatility Shares co-founder and CEO Justin Young told The Block.

Franklin Templeton recently became the largest asset manager to propose a Solana ETF, and referenced including staking rewards as income for the fund in its filing.