Solana ETF bids are gaining traction at the SEC as Wall Street buzzes with cryptocurrency discussions and the regulatory landscape for digital assets evolves.

Following VanEck’s submission for a Solana (SOL) Trust, wealth manager 21Shares has filed its “21Shares Core Solana ETF” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to documents submitted on Friday. Both filings have notably excluded crypto staking, a common trend for crypto-backed ETFs recently.

The 21Shares spot Solana ETF application marks the second of its kind, with SOL joining the ranks of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). After the successful approval of a Bitcoin ETF and the anticipated approval of an Ethereum ETF, SOL is emerging as the next cryptocurrency to be considered for an exchange-traded fund, aiming to attract institutional capital.

Despite the growing interest, experts and industry leaders, including Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, believe that launching spot SOL ETFs will be challenging until at least next year. Gaevoy also indicated that low capital inflows into spot ETH ETFs might deter investors from exploring another crypto investment product.

“Bringing spot SOL ETFs to market will be nearly impossible until at least next year,” said Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy.

Classifying Solana’s native token as a commodity rather than a security has been a consistent theme among spot SOL ETF filings. This strategy and underlying thesis for SOL-backed funds closely follow the approach taken by potential spot Ethereum ETF issuers.

On June 27, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, noted that SOL operates similarly to other digital commodities like Bitcoin and Ether, serving as a transaction fee facility and a payment currency for blockchain computational services.

“The broad range of applications and services supported by the SOL ecosystem, from decentralized finance (DeFi) to NFTs, underscores SOL’s utility and value as a digital commodity,” said Sigel.

Sigel also highlighted that no single entity or intermediary controls the SOL network, reinforcing its decentralized nature and commodity status.

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