Bloomberg Analyst Says SEC Won’t Approve Solana ETF Unless This Happens 

Famous Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlights factor that could propel the approval of a Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund in the next 12 months. 

According to Balchunas, the chance of a Solana ETF being approved by the SEC within the next 12 months is closely tied to the change in the country’s president. 

Despite speculating that recent developments have increased the odds of both events happening, he refrained from issuing specific figures for possible occurrence. He emphasized that estimating the odds of a Solana ETF approval is still early. 

VanEck Files for Solana Spot ETF 

Balchunas’ remark comes after popular asset manager VanEck applied with the SEC to launch a spot Solana ETF. Should the SEC approve the application, the fund, dubbed VanEck Solana Trust, is anticipated to be listed on the Cboe BZX exchange. 

The filing follows the SEC’s approval of multiple Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs. While the Bitcoin ETFs have commenced trading in the U.S., the Ethereum funds are yet to be listed due to the SEC’s delay in approving the S-1 documents for the fund.

Despite the SEC’s delay, VanEck still applied to launch a spot ETF for Solana (SOL). 

Bloomberg ETF Analyst Reacts  

Commenting, Balchunas said his ‘knee-jerk reaction’ assumes that the SEC would never approve the Solana ETF application because the cryptocurrency does not have a futures contract yet. 

However, he suggested that the emergence of a new United States President and SEC leadership could turn things around. 

Furthermore, the Bloomberg analyst imagined a scenario in which someone like Hester Peirce, one of the SEC’s five commissioners known for her pro-crypto stance, leads the securities agency. 

The knee jerk reaction here is 'oh this will never be approved bc there aren't Solana futures' agree but.. if change at POTUS i think anything poss. Just imagine Hester Peirce (or someone like that) running the SEC..

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 27, 2024

Given Peirce’s support for crypto over the years, her leadership at the SEC could birth more favorable regulations for the industry, leading to the possible launch of more spot ETFs for different crypto assets, including SOL. 

Meanwhile, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, the SEC gave the securities tag to SOL via its lawsuits with Coinbase and Binance. This further raises doubt about the regulator’s approval of a spot Solana ETF under the current leadership.