"SEC Reviews Spot Solana ETFs: A New Crypto Investment Frontier?"

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated a review of applications for spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking a potential expansion of cryptocurrency investment products in the United States. The regulatory body has set an October 16, 2025 deadline for its decision on these applications.

Five major asset management firms have submitted applications for spot Solana ETFs. These companies include Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary, 21Shares, and VanEck, each hoping to create investment products that track the price of Solana.

The move follows the successful launches of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which were approved last year under the Trump administration. These earlier approvals led to billions of dollars in institutional investment flowing into the top two cryptocurrencies.

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas has given the Solana ETF applications a 70% chance of approval this year. “Right now, the only thing that’s happened is they didn’t get a phone call telling them to go away,” Balchunas told Decrypt.

The review process could show progress through several key indicators. These include the SEC providing feedback on proposed rule changes, direct meetings between asset managers and the SEC about Solana ETFs, and potential developments in ongoing enforcement actions.

Coinbase’s derivatives exchange recently launched Solana futures contracts, which are regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This development might strengthen the case for ETF approval by providing a regulated market for the asset.

The presence of regulated futures markets was a key factor in previous crypto ETF approvals. When approving Bitcoin ETFs, the SEC considered regulated futures markets as a way to address concerns about fraud and market manipulation.

In the broader market, Solana’s ecosystem has shown growth in several areas. The platform’s decentralized exchange, Raydium, has surpassed Ethereum’s Uniswap in trading volume for two consecutive months.

Pantera Capital, a cryptocurrency investment firm, expects a Solana ETF approval by March 2025. The firm bases this prediction on Solana’s increasing presence in decentralized finance and its active developer community.

The SEC’s timeline for reviewing these applications could extend through multiple rounds of feedback and amendments. Under former SEC Chair Gary Gens