The Cboe BZX Exchange has filed four 19b-4 applications with asset managers Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital to list spot Solana (ETF) exchange-traded funds on the day the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman confirms he will resign in January.
If approved, the spot Solana (SOL) ETFs issued by Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares and Canary Capital will be listed on the BZX Exchange of the Chicago Options Exchange (CBOE), USA.
Excerpt from VanEck's 19b-4 filing to the SEC. Source: CBOE
The 19b-4 form notifies the SEC of the anticipated regulatory changes by a self-regulatory organization such as a financial authority or a stock exchange.
It differs from the S-1 registration filings that VanEck and 21Shares have submitted for their Solana ETFs at the end of June, and Canary Capital filed four months later on October 30.
Meanwhile, Bitwise has registered a Delaware-regulated trust fund for its spot Solana ETF on October 20, indicating they will put their name on the approved list. The crypto-focused asset management firm has filed its S-1 on October 21.
The filings were submitted - coincidentally or not - as Gary Gensler, a crypto opponent, announced he would resign as SEC chairman on the day Donald Trump's administration took office for a second term.
Gensler is expected to remain SEC chairman until 2026.
His voluntary resignation means Trump will not need to fulfill his campaign promise to fire Gensler on the "First Day" as he pledged to the crypto industry.
Many industry experts predict a much more crypto-friendly regulatory environment, which could lead to more crypto ETF filings as seen on October 21.
The change in SEC leadership and regulatory clarity may make it less likely that Solana will be considered a security; a 21Shares spokesperson told TinTucBitcoin:
"We strongly believe that the native Token of Solana, SOL, qualifies to be included in an ETF as a commodity. In fact, no court has ever stated that the SOL Token itself is a security - this is consistent with many court decisions that we have cited in our filing."
Asset managers have also filed for other spot XRP (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) ETFs. Franklin Templeton has filed for a crypto index ETF, although the SEC has delayed a decision on this until early 2025.
Many industry analysts predict that the inflows into approved Solana spot ETFs may be smaller than what has been seen with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs.
However, Solana has been one of the best performers in this bull cycle, rising over 2,500% to $254.71, CoinGecko data shows.
It is currently only 1.2% off its all-time high of $259.96 set in November 2021.
