What do influencers think of VanEck's Solana (SOL) spot ETF application for the crypto market?

VanEck, a large US asset manager, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a Solana spot ETF. VanEck's position is that SOLs are "commodities, not securities," and that "neither the trust, nor any of its sponsors, trustees or interested persons, directly or indirectly, will engage in any activity that utilizes any portion of the SOLs to earn staking rewards or generate additional revenue."

This provision is likely a nod to the SEC's past use of "staking" as a way to characterize securities. The ETF's management fees have not been disclosed, and if approved, it will be listed on the BZX exchange, a division of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Meanwhile, in order for an ETF to launch in the U.S., both the issuer's registration statement (S-1) and the listing exchange's request for review of trading rule changes (19b-4) must be approved.

"Asset manager VanEck has filed the first application for a spot ETF for Solana (SOL) in the United States," reports crypto media outlet UBlockchain. VanEck explained that SOL is a product that offers a better user experience than ETH. However, unlike BTC and ETH, SOL faces challenges in terms of spot ETF approval as there are no futures ETFs and the SEC once deemed SOL a security, leading to Robinhood's closure of SOL," he explained, highlighting that the biggest hurdle to approving a Solana ETF is the SEC's determination of its securitization.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas commented on VanEck's ETF application, "While I agree that this spot ETF will never be approved because there is no SOL futures ETF, I think this year's presidential election will have a significant impact. If pro-crypto U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce becomes SEC chair, that could change the tide. I see VanEck's filing as a call on the presidential election. With the election in 240 days, the SEC will have to think about it," he said, suggesting that other influences will dominate the election.

Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of crypto market maker Wintermute, tweeted on his X (formerly Twitter) that "it is highly unlikely that a Solana (SOL) spot ETF will be approved this year. Even if Trump wins, it will not be a priority policy. Also, even if a SOL ETF is approved this year, the inflows will be small. We'll know this when we see the inflows into the Ethereum spot ETF," said Eric Balchunas, who partially agrees with Eric's sentiment but doesn't expect much follow-through.

Another Bloomberg analyst specializing in ETFs, James Seifart, said: "With new blood in the U.S. government and the SEC, a Solana (SOL) spot ETF could be launched next year, but it's not a sure thing. VanEck's filing is just an S-1 registration statement. If the filing today is a 19b-1, the deadline would be mid-March next year." In order for an ETF to launch in the U.S., both the issuer's S-1 registration statement and the exchange's 19b-4 request for rule change review must be approved.

Andrei Grachev, co-founder of crypto market maker DWF Labs, said: "Regardless of when Solar or spot ETFs are approved, we all have a clear vision. One is to see the price of SOL rise to $280 and break the all-time high (ATH), and the other is to see an ETH spot ETF launch," said Grachev, who expects a major market uprising once the decision is made.