Crypto asset management company Bitwise has officially submitted a Form S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), planning to launch the Bitwise Solana ETF. This action was announced the day after the company applied to establish a fund trust entity in Delaware.

According to the documents submitted on November 21, BNY Mellon will serve as the trustee for the proposed spot Solana ETF.

Through this application, Bitwise joins other asset management companies planning to launch Solana ETF products, including VanEck and 21Shares.

As early as June, VanEck submitted an S-1 registration statement to the SEC, planning to launch the first spot Solana ETF in the U.S. Shortly after, 21Shares followed suit, submitting an application to launch its spot ETF tracking the performance of Solana on the Cboe exchange.

The SEC previously identified Solana, along with other digital assets such as Cardano (ADA) and Polygon (MATIC), as securities in its lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase.

However, a recent court document indicates that the SEC plans to modify allegations regarding "third-party crypto asset securities." This modification suggests that the SEC is currently not seeking to classify Solana as a security in its lawsuit against Binance.

Nevertheless, legal experts state that the SEC has not officially reclassified SOL as a non-security. The agency still views SOL and similar tokens as securities in other cases against Coinbase and others.

Bitwise mentioned in its S-1 document that given the regulatory uncertainty and potential risks Solana faces, if SOL is determined to be a security, the company may need to adjust its Solana ETF plans. This could include modifications to the fund structure, operations, and investor disclosures, and could even lead to fund liquidation or restructuring.

The document states: "If Solana is determined to be a security by a court or other regulatory bodies, the trust may be regarded as an unregistered 'investment company' under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which could require the trust to liquidate per the trust agreement. Additionally, the trust could be seen as engaging in the distribution of unregistered securities (i.e., public offerings), thereby violating Section 5 of the Securities Act, which could pose significant civil and criminal liabilities to the trust. The trust's judgment on the non-security nature of Solana does not guarantee support from the courts or regulatory bodies."

VanEck insists that Solana, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, should be classified as a commodity.