"Race for Spot Solana ETFs Heats Up as SEC Review Restarts"

The race for U.S. spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has gained momentum as Cboe BZX Exchange refiled a fresh set of applications on Tuesday, representing four investment firms. The 19b-4 filings submitted on behalf of Canary Solana Trust, Bitwise Solana ETF, 21Shares Core Solana ETF, and VanEck Solana Trust have restarted the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) review process for spot SOL ETFs under the new, more crypto-friendly acting chair, Mark Uyeda.

These applications come after the withdrawal of previous applications late last year at the SEC's request. If approved, these investment products would offer traditional investors direct exposure to SOL without the hassle of buying and storing the cryptocurrency, potentially widening access to the crypto market.

Industry pundits are hopeful that a Solana ETF could receive the regulatory greenlight this year, given the new administration's friendly stance toward the crypto sector. The new SEC has already revoked past crypto-related actions made under the previous administration, including rescinding a controversial rule that mandated financial firms holding crypto to record them as liabilities on their balance sheets.

One hurdle for a SOL ETF will be whether it is categorized as a commodity like Bitcoin and Ether or an unregistered security. There are ongoing SEC lawsuits against crypto exchanges alleging that SOL constitutes an unregistered security. Despite this, investment banking behemoth JPMorgan estimated that a greenlighted spot Solana ETF could draw in between $1 billion and $2 billion in net assets during the first year.