Solana ETFs face SEC rejection roadblock

U.S. Solana ETFs may face approval delays due to the transition in federal government and agency leadership.

Some spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund issuers have been notified by Securities and Exchange Commission staff of impending hurdles to their applications, Fox Business’ Eleanor Terrett reported, citing insiders at X.

Issuers have been notified that the SEC will not consider new cryptocurrency ETF proposals until Donald Trump takes office, leaving spot Solana funds in limbo until January 2025. So far, five companies, including VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary Capital and Grayscale, have submitted applications.

🚨SCOOP: I verified this @SECGov It has notified at least two out of five potential issuers that it will reject their 19b4 applications. $LEFT spot ETFs.

The consensus here, I’m told, is that the SEC won’t offer anything new. #crypto ETFs under current management.

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) December 6, 2024

Reports of delays in 19b-4 filings, also known as rule change proposals, came despite alleged progress on Solana funds in late November. At the time, the firms noted feedback from the SEC and dialogue with agency employees on advancing Form S-1 filings, a formality in securities registration for ETFs.

Issuers like WisdomTree have sought to expand their existing suite of crypto products, encouraged by the success of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs and the strides spot Ethereum (ETH) ETFs have made in recent weeks.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been a breakout story of the year, amassing $109 billion in assets since January and outpacing dormant assets attributed to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Issuers have also filed paperwork to list spot (XRP) ETFs, as Ripple’s business looks to grow stronger with stablecoin plans amid changing policy environments and the new White House regime under pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump.

Still, Wall Street leaders like BlackRock and Fidelity have held off joining the race to list crypto ETFs other than Bitcoin and Ethereum.