Solana ETF Applicants Submit Updated SEC Filings With Staking

Seven ETF issuers filed amended S-1 forms for Solana exchange-traded funds with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, clarifying language that would enable them to stake their held SOL.

The proposed ETFs from 21Shares, Bitwise, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, VanEck, and Canary Capital aim to offer investors exposure to Solana by directly tracking the altcoin. 

The staking component would enable issuers to generate yield on the Solana held in their funds, allowing them to potentially offer higher returns to investors. Friday’s moves come following a Tuesday report from Blockworks, which cited sources saying that the SEC asked prospective Solana ETF issuers to update their S-1 filings.

Staking refers to the process of pledging tokens to a decentralized network in exchange for yield, or financial rewards. Its inclusion in ETFs is a point of contention among federal regulators, who previously delayed their decision on staking in Ethereum ETFs due to concerns over the financial and security-related risks posed by the practice.

The rash of filings comes as U.S. regulators and lawmakers ratchet back restrictions on the digital assets industry, and amid speculation that the SEC will soon greenlight Solana ETFs to trade in the U.S.

Under pro-crypto U.S. President Donald Trump, the digital assets industry’s two primary regulators, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, have shifted their approach to crypto—including the SEC dropping lawsuits against industry giants like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.

Commissioners have also ramped up their engagement with crypto companies over the past few months, with the aim to collaborate on shaping regulatory guardrails for the industry.

Federal regulators’ softening stances on crypto regulations has spurred an explosion in applications for ETFs based on a wide variety of cryptocurrencies, from meme coins such as Dogecoin, Official Trump, and Bonk to altcoins like XRP, Sui, and Avalanche. However, the agency has yet to approve spot ETFs based on cryptocurrencies other than Ethereum and Bitcoin. 

Although experts expect issuers to secure the go-ahead to offer Solana ETFs in the U.S. within the next few weeks, the approval process has been a long one. In May, the SEC pushed back its deadline to approve or deny a swath of spot Solana ETFs

Solana is trading at $147 as of writing time, down 3.5% in the past day, according to CoinGecko data.

Edited by Andrew Hayward