On Friday, seven ETF issuers submitted amended S-1 forms to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for Solana exchange-traded funds, seeking approval to include staking capabilities. This move aims to allow issuers to generate yield on held Solana, potentially offering higher returns to investors. The filings follow a report from Blockworks on Tuesday, indicating the SEC requested updates to the S-1 filings.
The proposed ETFs from 21Shares, Bitwise, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, VanEck, and Canary Capital seek to offer investors exposure to Solana by directly tracking the altcoin. Staking involves pledging tokens to a decentralized network for rewards. The inclusion of staking in ETFs has been a point of contention for regulators.
This surge in applications comes as U.S. regulators and lawmakers ease restrictions on digital assets, with speculation that the SEC will soon approve Solana ETFs. Under the leadership of pro-crypto U.S. President Donald Trump, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have shifted their approach to crypto. The SEC has dropped lawsuits against major industry players like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Federal regulators' changing stances have led to a rise in ETF applications based on various cryptocurrencies. This includes meme coins like Dogecoin and altcoins such as XRP. However, the agency has yet to approve spot ETFs based on cryptocurrencies other than Ethereum and Bitcoin. Solana is currently trading at $147, down 3.5% in the past day, according to CoinGecko data.