Major cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale has filed to convert its Solana Trust (GSOL) fund into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to the native token of the smart contract platform, SOL.
Through a 19b-4 filing submitted by NYSE Arca, which would list the fund if it’s approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Grayscale moved forward with the potential conversion and became one of the major asset managers in the race to list a spot Solana ETF.
Other asset managers that have filed with the SEC to launch such an ETF include Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital. The filing notably comes after Grayscale managed to convert its Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts into ETFs.
The firm’s Bitcoin Trust, GBTC, became a spot Bitcoin ETF on January 11, when other spot ETFs offering exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency were launched, while its Ethereum Trust became a spot Ether ETF on July 23.
Grayscale’s website shows that the Solana Trust, which is trading at $167.97 per share, has around $120.1 million in total assets under management and an et asset value (NAV) of $84.82 per share at the time of writing.
Solana ETF hopes grow
While the SEC hasn’t yet approved a spot Solana ETF, an incoming regulatory shift could soon change that as SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who’s led a crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry, has announced his departure from the agency in January.
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world” and campaigned with a pro-crypto stance, suggesting that the approval of such a fund is likelier under his tenure.
On top of all this, the SEC has reportedly started engaging with the asset managers looking to launch spot Solana ETFs, reviewing their proposals in a crucial step before a potential approval of these products.
The filings to list a spot Solana ETF are growing at a time in which the Solana network has recorded exponential growth, moving to over 160 million monthly active address this year after over $2 billion flowed to SOL from other networks.
