After the first request for the issuance of a spot Solana ETF in the USA, sent to the SEC last week by VanEck, other companies are submitting their requests, including 21Shares.
Since in these cases the SEC is accustomed to approving all eligible requests at once, after the submission of VanEck’s request, other companies must effectively hurry to submit theirs if they want them to be approved together with the first one.
Summary
The request of 21Shares for the ETF on Solana spot
The request by 21Shares was officially submitted to the SEC on June 28, which is the day after that of VanEck.
21Shares is the largest European issuer of crypto ETFs and similar products, such as ETNs, although it is not among the top worldwide.
The 21Shares ETF on Solana will be called 21SHARES CORE SOLANA ETF, and it will be fully collateralized in SOL.
It will be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
It is not yet clear when it might actually arrive on the stock exchange, nor if the SEC is willing to approve this request.
The position of the SEC
In theory, it is not possible to know the current position of the SEC on this matter.
Certainly SOL is one of those cryptocurrencies that the current administration of the agency considers at risk of being deemed unregistered securities, even though after the approval of ETH on Ethereum in May the situation seems to have changed.
In this regard, it is necessary to add two key elements.
The first is that the possible approval or rejection of the requests for the issuance of spot Solana ETFs in the USA by VanEck and 21Shares should arrive after the presidential elections in November.
Although the potential new president would take office only in January, it is difficult to imagine that the SEC could act without his consent. Generally, new presidents take months to appoint new heads of federal agencies when they take office, but it remains unlikely that in the case of a Trump victory, the SEC could act behind his back and against his will.
The second is that, even in the event of a Biden victory, or in any case of a democratic candidate, the policy of the democrats towards crypto derivatives this year seems to have changed.
It should be noted, however, that this change could also be merely the result of propaganda needs in preparation for the November elections, and in that case, the current permissive policy could change after the elections, in the event of a democratic victory.
Therefore, at this moment it seems absolutely impossible to guess what the SEC’s position will be towards Solana when it will be forced to pronounce on the requests for issuance of these ETFs.
The reaction of the price of Solana (SOL)
The price of SOL, the native cryptocurrency of the Solana ecosystem, has risen by 18% compared to seven days ago.
The bulk of this rise occurred on June 27, the day of the presentation of the first request for the issuance of a spot ETF to the SEC by VanEck.
That day a peak above $150 was reached, while now the price of SOL has dropped to $147.
The fact is that between Friday and Sunday it had returned to $137, losing almost everything it had gained on Thursday.
Last night, however, there was a general recovery of the crypto market which also allowed Solana to get back close to $150.
It is worth noting that the price of SOL remains 11% lower than that of thirty days ago, even though it is 45% higher than at the beginning of the year.
The best year was 2023, with a stellar performance that brought it back into the top 5 of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
The peak of 2024 was higher than $200, but starting from April, the price of Solana underwent a correction that brought it back to the levels of early March.
The peak maximum of last year, however, stopped at 120$.
21Shares takes advantage of the trend to request the ETF on Solana
21Shares is absolutely one of the companies that has issued and manages the most crypto funds in the world.
It is a Swiss company active both in Europe and the USA, with around thirty ETNs and ETFs.
Compared, however, with the American giants, such as BlackRock and Fidelity, it seems a bit overshadowed, but it should be remembered that it is a European company active mainly in Europe, where the crypto funds of BlackRock and Fidelity are not present.
However, its ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, issued in collaboration with Ark Invest by Cathie Wood, is the fourth largest ETF in the world by market capitalization, although it capitalizes just a little more than a tenth compared to the first one (the one by BlackRock).
ARKB holds approximately 45,000 BTC, compared to the 306,000 of IBIT (BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust), the 275,000 of GBTC (Grayscale Bitcoin Trust), and the 167,000 of FBTC (Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund).
It should be noted that the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP is still one of the largest in Europe, with its nearly 11,000 BTC.
Therefore, 21Shares is the leading company in the European market for crypto funds, and thanks to significant collaborations, it is also a key player in the US markets, albeit with a secondary role.
