On Feb. 21, 2025, Franklin Templeton, a significant international asset administration agency, filed with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based mostly on Solana, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The proposed Franklin Solana ETF goals to trace Solana’s value, with its property held by a custodian. The ETF’s shares could be listed on the Cboe BZX Alternate, and Coinbase Custody Belief Firm, LLC, would serve as the custodian.
This submitting is a part of a broader development, with different corporations such as Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary additionally making use of to launch Solana-based ETFs. The SEC’s approval of those merchandise remains to be unsure. Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst, Eric Balchunas, has estimated a 70% likelihood of approval for Solana ETFs in 2025 however highlighted that the SEC’s evaluation course of and public remark interval will affect the end result.
The Franklin Solana ETF proposal features a plan for the fund to take part in staking, the place it will earn Solana tokens as rewards. These rewards could be thought-about earnings for the fund. Staking has been a major subject of debate amongst crypto corporations, particularly with the SEC’s stance on the matter nonetheless unclear. Firms just like the New York Inventory Alternate and Cboe BZX have been searching for approval for staking in crypto ETFs, such as Grayscale’s Ethereum fund.
Just lately, Solana’s value has skilled a decline, buying and selling at about $168, down over 16% in the final week. This lower is linked to an argument involving the Libra token and a broader slowdown in meme coin initiatives. Regardless of this, demand for crypto-related funding merchandise continues to rise, pushed by the success of Bitcoin ETFs, which have seen over $40 billion in internet inflows in the previous yr.
Franklin Templeton’s submitting follows an analogous transfer earlier in 2025 when the agency launched the Templeton Crypto Index ETF, which supplies publicity to Bitcoin and Ethereum. If authorised, the Solana ETF would broaden Franklin Templeton’s portfolio of crypto-based merchandise in the U.S., signaling the agency’s rising curiosity in the digital asset area. The broader development of accelerating crypto-focused monetary merchandise suggests a shift in the market towards higher range in the forms of digital asset investments accessible.
Because the regulatory setting for cryptocurrency continues to evolve, many specialists are optimistic in regards to the approval of Solana ETFs. With rising demand for digital asset merchandise and the SEC’s evolving stance, the approval of those ETFs is anticipated to boost entry to crypto investments additional for institutional and retail traders alike.
