SEC POSTPONES DECISION ON SPOT SOLANA ETFS

- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its ruling on spot Solana ETF applications filed by major players including VanEck, 21Shares, Fidelity, and Bitwise.

KEY DETAILS:

- The regulator initiates proceedings to determine whether these proposals meet regulatory standards under Section 6(b)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act.

- This section mandates that exchange rules prevent fraud, manipulation, and protect investors and the public interest.

- Bitwise’s application, originally filed in January 2025 via the Cboe BZX Exchange, and 21Shares’ bid are now under extended scrutiny.

- Both have faced delays before, with the SEC expressing ongoing concerns about market manipulation risks and investor safeguards.

- The SEC has similarly deferred decisions on Grayscale’s Solana ETF and others, signaling slow progress in this space. The agency seeks additional data and public input before moving forward.

- Despite the sluggish pace, experts from Bloomberg project roughly a 70% chance for Solana ETF approval in 2025.

- Other altcoin ETFs, like Litecoin and XRP, hold even higher odds—around 85-90%—benefiting from clearer regulatory status as commodities.