21Shares also applies for Solana spot ETF… Betting on the Trump administration?

Asset management company 21 Shares submitted an application to launch the Solana cash exchange-traded fund (ETF). It is the second after Van Eck. Analysis suggests that expectations that a new administration friendly to virtual assets will be in place ahead of the US presidential election in November influenced this move.

According to the industry on the 1st, 21 Shares submitted an S-1 document for Solana Spot ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. It has been one day since competitor VanEck submitted an application for Solana spot ETF, the first in the industry. 21 Shares, like VanEck, maintains that Solana (SOL) is a product, not a security. “Solana Spot ETF is a necessary step for the virtual asset industry,” said Andrew Jacobson, head of legal affairs at 21 Shares. “It is in line with our mission to provide highly accessible financial products centered on virtual assets.”



According to the document, the 21Shares Core Solana ETF will be traded on the BZX exchange under CBOE. Coinbase Custody Trust served as trustee. 21Shares, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, already operates the 21Shares Solana Staking Exchange Traded Product (ETP).

Industry analysts say that these moves by asset management companies reflect expectations about former U.S. President Trump. Former US President Donald Trump is showing an industry-friendly attitude by holding events for non-fungible token (NFT) holders and announcing that he will accept virtual assets as election support funds. Accordingly, the Democratic Party, which has been hard on virtual assets, is also changing its stance.

Market-making company GSR said in a recent report, “It was hard to imagine just a month ago, but both parties recently abolished the SEC’s controversial virtual asset fiduciary accounting policy (SAB 121), and the House of Representatives proposed a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework ( He pointed out, “FIT21) was passed.” In this trend, it is difficult for spot ETFs of various virtual assets to be launched in the current system, but it is expected that a more open system may be established if the Trump administration takes office. GSR also added a rosy prediction that if the Solana spot ETF is approved, the price of SOL could rise up to 8.9 times in the future.

James Seipart, Bloomberg ETF analyst, also said, “Van Eck’s submission (Solana spot ETF documents) is a call option for the November election.” Under the current SEC stance, it is unlikely that the Solana spot ETF will be approved. For Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), futures ETFs were approved first, and spot ETFs were approved after data accumulated through several years of transactions. On the other hand, Solana Futures ETF is not trading. Analyst Seipart said, “The Solana ETF will be rejected because there is no federally regulated futures market,” but added, “With a new administration in the White House and a new SEC that is friendly to virtual assets, this calculation may change.”

Nate Jerash, CEO of ETF Store, an investment advisory firm, said, “At this point, the only path to approval for the Solana spot ETF is for a framework to be implemented that clearly defines whether the virtual asset is a security or a product, or for the SEC to recognize Solana as a product. In any case, it seems difficult under the current government.” In this context, it is believed that Van Eck and 21 Shares are likely betting on a Trump administration that is more friendly to virtual assets.

As of 4:56 p.m. on this day, SOL is trading at $148.09, up 5.47% from the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap. It has risen 18.17% in the past week.

Reporter Do Yeri

yeri.do@decenter.kr