The Cboe is officially attempting to make SOL ETFs happen.
It is doing this through VanEck and 21Shares.
If approved, this will mark a new wave in cryptocurrency trade.
After previous unsuccessful attempts to introduce Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), new attempts are being made to list the highly traded cryptocurrency. According to CoinGecko, SOL is the most popular blockchain ecosystem this year with Ethereum coming in a close second.
Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) Global Markets, an exchange operator, has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list EFTs that are tied to Solana; specifically, products from the asset managers, VanEck and 21Shares. This has kickstarted the timeline for the Commission to either approve or deny the operator’s 19b-4 application. According to the Commission’s rules, it has 240 days to decide on the application.
Rob Marrocco, the global head of ETP listings at Cboe Global Markets recently released a statement in which he mentioned that they are attempting to address the “increasing investor interest in SOL, one of the most actively traded cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin and Ether”. This, he says, is after Cboe successfully listed the “first U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs” and secured SEC approval for rule filings to list spot Ether ETFs.
VanEck had applied with the SEC by filing the S-1 form for SOL in June and 21Shares did the same the day after. The S-1 form is required when an entity wants to offer a new security on the market. Securities must have an S-1 filing before they can be listed on a national exchange platform. The 19b-4 form is for self-regulatory organizations to inform the SEC of a change in their rule and they must justify it before they can get approval.
It is important to note that Cboe isn’t just focusing on SOL. They had their 19b-4 filings for Ethereum approved by the SEC in May 2024 and they are set to start trading ETH ETFs soon. However, they still need the final go-ahead as these products often require a two-stage approval process.
Experts believe that SOL’s liquidity will shoot up should the EFT get approved as Spot SOL ETFs are expected to witness about $3 billion in inflows over time. A significant portion of this predicted amount is also expected to flow through ETFSwap. The current price of Solana is hovering around $139.55.