🔥 Solana Spot #ETF Unlikely, Yet Still Crypto’s Top Hope
After Spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for both Bitcoin and Ethereum were finally approved in the US this year, many in the industry are openly wondering whether Solana will be next.
Brazil’s Solana Spot ETF will provide an interesting test case for its viability in US markets.
🔸 2024: An ETF Bonanza
2024 has been a pivotal year for ETFs in the cryptoasset industry. The SEC made headlines worldwide when it announced Bitcoin ETF’s approval in January. The subsequent events led to a historic rally in Bitcoin’s price, multibillion-dollar trades in these new assets, and permanent changes in the entire industry.
Several months later, the SEC approved the second major spot ETF, this time based on Ethereum. By then, the SEC was no trailblazer, as jurisdictions abroad had already approved similar products months prior. A total taboo just a year ago had suddenly turned into open season. In this environment, the community began asking: which cryptocurrency will win approval next?
One possible candidate that experts point to is Solana, a blockchain platform and the fifth-largest cryptoasset by market cap. Solana first went public in 2020, offering a proof-of-stake model and a smart contract system similar to Ethereum’s. Solana is seen as more likely than any other asset for fairly clear reasons.
🔸 The Steps to Success
A key issue in past ETF legal battles has been Bitcoin and Ethereum’s legal status: Are they commodities or securities? If a corporate entity can meddle with a coin’s price, what chaos could that create for an ETF? The ETF is already a security, and it simply wouldn’t work to build security around a security-type coin.
The SEC considers a spot ETF the gold standard for regulatory approval—something that investors of all sizes can trust. It would never approve one around an asset with an obvious backdoor. Tether, as a stablecoin, will always be open to direct management from its issuers.
