Fidelity Files For Spot Solana ETF In US
1min read On March 25, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) submitted an application to list a spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) issued by fidelity. This move comes just four days after Fidelity registered a Solana fund in Delaware. Fidelity, with $5.9 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, is the third-largest asset manager globally. The firm has also seen significant inflows from spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs traded in the US, amassing nearly $13 billion.
This development marks Fidelity's entry into the competitive landscape of SOL ETFs in the US, joining other companies such as 21shares, Canary Capital, Bitwise, VanEck, and Grayscale. The interest in SOL ETFs is significant, with jpmorgan estimating in January that these ETFs could see inflows between $3 billion and $6 billion. This estimation is based on comparing the inflows of BTC and ETH exchange-traded products to their market caps.
The filing by Cboe comes just five days after the first SOL-related ETFs began trading in the US. Issuer Volatility Shares launched two products tracking the price of Solana futures contracts, one of which offers exposure with 2X leverage. This indicates a growing appetite for SOL among traders and investors. Solana futures recently started trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on March 17, with initial volume suggesting a decent interest in SOL. K33 head of research Vetle Lunde noted that while the initial volume of $12.3 million on March 17 was underwhelming compared to BTC’s $102.7 million and ETH’s $31 million, the interest in Solana futures aligns with Bitcoin and Ethereum when normalized by their market caps.
The competitive ETF landscape in the US is expanding, with asset managers testing regulatory boundaries. Filings for altcoin-related ETFs range from major-cap cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin (LTC), XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Polkadot (DOT) to medium-cap assets such as Hedera (HBAR) and Axelar (AXL). Recently, Canary Capital filed for the first ETF tracking the price of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection, which, if approved, will be exposed to the PENGU token and Pudgy Penguins NFTs. Even memecoins are being considered for ETFs, with Bitwise filing a Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF in January, further expanding the ETF race to new assets.
Ask Aime: What is the significance of Fidelity's entry into the SOL ETF market and how might it impact the broader cryptocurrency landscape?
