Yesterday, Grayscale made a significant move, announcing its entry into the Solana ETF arena. The New York Stock Exchange Arca submitted a 19b-4 form to officially apply to the SEC for the listing and trading of Grayscale Solana Trust shares.

This move has left BlackRock, Fidelity, ProShares, and Ark as the only major players on the scene yet to apply for SOL ETF.

That said, Grayscale has also followed the old path of the Ethereum ETF—giving up staking rewards.

The reason is to avoid SEC concerns and prevent staking rewards from being classified as securities, along with the risk of slashing for staked tokens. Well, the simplest solution is to not stake at all! But does this mean the allure of SOL ETF has been cut in half?

Without staking, is SOL ETF worth buying?

This move has left investors somewhat conflicted: Solana's staking annual interest rate is quite high!

According to data, the average staking return rate for SOL in the past week reached as high as 11.4%, even in the quiet month of August, the yield was over 8%. In contrast, Ethereum's staking rate is only 3.4%, which is significantly lower.

If staking is abandoned, those SOL ETF investors who do not stake will see their value diluted due to inflation. Validators earn extra SOL when validating the blockchain, and these inflationary benefits go directly to stakers, leaving non-stakers with nothing and even losing potential gains.

However, Leah Wald, CEO of Sol Strategies, stated that SOL's appeal is not limited to staking, but she also admitted, 'Staking is indeed a way to add value.' After all, in Canada, Sol Strategies is both staking and running validation nodes, making a substantial profit.

The likelihood of Trump’s SEC changing the rules

Of course, there is a glimmer of hope in the market: if Trump's nominated SEC chairman Paul Atkins takes office and relaxes policies on staking rewards, then SOL ETF might allow for staking options. There are already voices in the crypto circle suggesting that the Trump administration could be more 'friendly'. But when this turnaround will actually happen is anyone's guess.

So the question arises: Are you willing to give up a staking return of up to 10% in exchange for a regulated investment channel?

Is it better to choose stable returns for 'retirement' or pursue the convenience of 'excitement' in investments?