VanEck Officer Says, Solana ETF “Remains in Play” Despite Cboe Removing Filings

A senior VanEck officer said the asset manager is still pursuing a Solana ETF even after the Cboe removed its filings from the website.

Key Takeaways

➔ VanEck, along with 21Shares, had applied to the SEC in June to launch these ETFs.

➔ The Cboe requested the SEC in July to list the ETFs.

➔ These ETFs are the first of their kind to track Solana’s price movement.

VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, has claimed that the issuer’s plan for the Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) “remains in play.”

The Cboe Global Markets had earlier removed the filings proposing to list the ETF on its exchange. Sigel explained that while the Cboe has removed the 19b-4 form, VanEck’s S-1 form still remains with the regulatory body.

Image: Matthew Sigel, X (formerly Twitter)

• The 19b-4 form is used by an exchange such as the Cboe to inform the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of a proposed rule change.

• The S-1 form is a prospectus containing all the information about the proposed fund that an asset manager such as the VanEck submits with the SEC.

• Unless the SEC approves both the forms submitted by the exchange and the issuer, the fund cannot go live.  

VanEck and 21Shares are among the firms that had applied for Solana ETFs.

• The issuers applied with the SEC to launch these ETFs in June.

• The Cboe submitted a request with the SEC in July to list the said ETFs of the two asset managers and urged the regulator to make a final call by March 2025.

• The agency has a deadline of 240 calendar days to announce its decision, whether it’s approval or denial.

Solana ETFs of VanEck and 21Shares are the first of their kind in the U.S. that are tied to Solana’s price. As the crypto community noticed the removal of its filings from the Cboe’s website, the confusion was palpable. It even sparked speculation that their listing may have been halted by the authorities.

It would not be entirely uncharacteristic of the SEC to halt these ETFs as it did earlier with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs before granting them approval in January and July this year. What the regulator thinks of the status of Solana as an asset is a crucial aspect here. Sigel said that VanEck still believes that SOL is a commodity like BTC and ETH, adding,

“This belief is informed by evolving legal perspectives, where courts and regulators have begun to recognize that certain crypto assets may function as securities in primary markets but behave more like commodities in secondary markets.”

Sigel even referred to a court judgement from 2018 in which the judge ruled that a particular token was a “virtual currency” like Bitcoin, even comparing it to natural gas. Sigel thinks the same logic should apply to digital assets like Solana, which could shape the future of ETF regulation.

However, market analysts are not so optimistic. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said there is “a snowball’s chance in hell of approval” for Solana ETFs unless there is a leadership change. The crisis again signals a lack of consensus between the regulator and the crypto industry in the US.  

If VanEck and other issuers engage with the SEC on the matter further, things might move forward. Meanwhile, a Solana ETF is on the table in Canada, and the same awaits a final nod in Brazil. It’s clear that the Americas love their crypto ETFs. All eyes are now fixed on the US.