VanEck believes that SOL should be treated as a commodity, much like Bitcoin and Ethereum, even though the SEC has argued that SOL should be classified as a security.
VanEck has filed an S-1 registration statement to launch the “VanEck Solana Trust,” the first spot Solana (SOL) ETF in the United States. The product aims to track the price of Solana by directly backing the Trust’s shares with SOL tokens. VanEck plans to have the ETF listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
According to the prospectus, the Trust and the sponsor will not use any of the Trust’s SOL to earn staking rewards or generate income. This move follows the SEC’s recent approval of 19b-4 applications from national exchanges to list spot Ethereum ETFs. Although these Ethereum ETFs have not yet been fully approved, they could be available as early as next week, based on feedback from the SEC and expert opinions.
Matthew Sigel, who leads digital asset research at VanEck, stated in a tweet that the firm sees Solana as a strong competitor to Ethereum. He highlighted Solana’s high transaction speed, low fees, strong security, and vibrant community as key reasons for its attractiveness as an ETF offering. VanEck believes that SOL should be treated as a commodity, much like Bitcoin and Ethereum, even though the SEC has argued that SOL should be classified as a security.
https://twitter.com/matthew_sigel/status/1806313241431138434?t=3FVKCrq0FIKtD9svP0NP2w&s=19
The SEC’s recent swift approval of Ethereum ETFs has raised hopes within the crypto industry that other crypto asset ETFs might soon be approved. This decision came just before the SEC’s deadline to make a ruling on the matter. Following this, the SEC also closed its investigation into Ethereum software giant Consensys regarding the security status of ETH. These actions have increased optimism that the SEC might allow a broader range of crypto ETFs.
Solana ETF Faces Regulatory Scrutiny
Despite these positive developments, the SEC continues its lawsuits against major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. In these lawsuits, the SEC maintains that SOL meets the criteria of the Howey Test, which would classify it as a security. However, industry experts believe that after approving Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, it will be difficult for the SEC to deny a similar product for Solana. They argue that denying Solana the same treatment would be inconsistent and challenging to justify.