Are Solana ETFs Just Around the Corner?

Inspired by the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, investors now anticipate that the SEC will give the green light to Solana ETFs as well. 

However, despite the huge potential and the appointment of the new crypto-friendly administration, these assets still have a few major challenges to overcome.

Let’s take a closer look.

The Status of Solana ETFs

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) can be a great way for investors to earn profit from the performance of digital assets without buying these assets directly. This opens the floodgates for traditional investors to invest in crypto.

Until now, we've yet to see Solana ETFs become available in the US. 

However, investors looking to get exposed to Solana’s price performance can already purchase ETF-like products such as Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL).

It’s worth noting that Grayscale was among the first companies to apply for a Solana ETF listing. In February 2025, the company made headlines as the SEC finally acknowledged its application.

This means that the SEC’s deadline to either approve or reject Grayscale’s Solana ETF application is October of this year.

Additionally, the SEC is now reviewing the applications of a few other companies, including VanEck and Bitwise. Canary Capital recently joined the waiting list as well.

Notably, this comes at a great time for crypto ETF approvals.

Paul Atkins, the newly-appointed head of the SEC, is a longstanding supporter of crypto ETFs. Notably, he has praised their ability to “increase the accessibility to Bitcoin” and “act as a stabilizer for futures offerings.”

This year, his appointment is likely to spark the issuance of ETFs for other cryptos — which could be great news for fans of Solana.

What is Solana?

Solana is a high-performance blockchain network providing developers with a fast, scalable, and cost-efficient solution for building decentralized applications.

Launched in 2020, the project has been steadily holding top positions by market cap. 

The network is purportedly capable of processing up to 65,000 transactions per second, with fees typically equaling a fraction of a cent.

This has attracted many developers to build a robust ecosystem of Dapps. According to DefiLlama, Solana features over $16 billion USD in TVL with apps generating a few million USD in each day.

If Solana ETFs do get approved, the project could attract even higher inflows. JPMorgan analysts predicted that the platform might grow by $3-6 billion within the first year.

DefiLlama: Solana’s TVL has continued to grow.

What Stood in the Way of a Solana ETF Approval?

While Solana ETFs are highly anticipated, they seemed far away until very recently.

The key challenge? Legal uncertainty.

The SEC rejected some of the previous filings for Solana ETFs in December 2024. What’s more, the financial watchdog categorized Solana as a security in its ongoing lawsuits against Ripple and major crypto exchanges.

This led James Seyffart, an analyst from Bloomberg Intelligence, to predict that Solana ETFs won’t be available until at least 2026.

Fortunately, Seyffart gave these predictions before Trump’s crypto-friendly administration took office. With the SEC’s new pro-crypto head, the chances seem higher than ever that Solana ETFs will get approved in the very near future.

Solana ETFs Provide a Broader Exposure to the Crypto Market

So far, Brazil is the only country to approve Solana ETFs. That happened back in August of 2024. 

While Brazil’s market is much smaller compared to the US, the event has marked a significant milestone as it has sparked investors’ interest in the project all across the globe.

With multiple applications under SEC review and more favorable regulatory climate, this year will be critical in determining the future of Solana ETFs. 

Should the approval come through, it would open the doors for more altcoin ETFs and signal a wider shift in the adoption of digital assets.