GSR Markets, a digital asset market marker, issued a report showing the potential implications of Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approval in the U.S. According to the market maker, the SOL ETF could cause a surge in SOL by 9X.

Also read: Ethereum ETF and Solana ETF Could Crush ETH and SOL’s Price, Investors Look Into RCOF 

GSR Markets detailed that Solana is among the most promising projects in the crypto space and ranks among crypto’s top three ecosystems. The report was coincidentally released on the same day a global investment manager, VanEck, issued an application for the SOL ETF. GSR Markets cited crypto ETFs as the main drivers of price fluctuations in the current cycle. The market maker highlighted that Solana ETFs could be next after Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

‘With Solana cementing itself alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum as crypto’s “Big Three” and Bitcoin and Ethereum both (or on the cusp of) having US-spot ETFs, it naturally begs the question: will Solana be next?’

–GSR

GSR is bullish on Solana

GSR publicly stated its bullish sentiments towards SOL and estimated a 9X surge in the digital asset price. The market marker predicted that Solana will see an inflow of 14% of that experienced by Bitcoin ETFs since the beginning of the year. If the GSR prediction falls true, the current SOL price of $149 will surge to cross the $1320 mark. With the new price, SOL will have a market cap of $614 billion, with the current circulating supply in line with the firm’s “blue sky” scenario.

Also read: 40% of South Korean university students are interested in crypto investing, study finds 

The firm also issued bear and baseline scenarios, which also predicted positive inflows for Solana. According to the GSR report, the bear scenario would accrue a 1.4X gain, and the baseline scenario would accrue a 3.4X gain.

GSR Predicted SOL price SEC could slow the ETF approval process

The report indicated that the prediction still undervalued the digital asset. The SOL price could exceed the firm’s expectations. The prediction relies on new ETF amendments, such as the approval of staking rewards. However, the chances of regulators including staking rewards in the ETF are slim, considering they declined staking in Ethereum ETF applications.

“Solana is poised for a spot ETF if and when additional spot digital asset ETFs are allowed in the US, and the impact on price may just be the largest yet.”

-GSR

GSR’s prediction counters that of Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst. Eric believes that the US needs to undergo administration changes to accommodate SOL ETF applications. Under Garry Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S. SEC) identified Solana as a security during the legal battle against top crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase. Gensler’s take on SOL as a security could significantly hinder the approval process, making it more challenging than the Bitcoin ETF approval process.

Cryptopolitan reporting by Collins J. Okoth