VanEck files for Solana ETF in the US, claiming SOL is a commodity

Fund manager VanEck filed for an exchange-traded fund that would track the price of Solana.

"I am excited to announce that VanEck just filed for the FIRST Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US," said Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck said in a post on X on Thursday. 

This comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved spot ETFs for both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The agency approved 19b-4 forms for spot Ethereum ETFs last month and still need to greenlight registration statements in order for those to begin trading, though some analysts believe that could be as soon as next week. 

The VanEck Solana Trust would list on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. and would "hold SOL and will value its Shares daily based on the reported MarketVectorTM Solana Benchmark Rate," according to the firm's S-1 registration statement. 

Sigel asserted that SOL is a commodity because it "functions similarly" to bitcoin and ether. The SEC said SOL is a security when it filed charges against crypto exchange Binance last year. 

The question of whether certain cryptocurrencies are securities under the SEC's jurisdiction or commodities, under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's jurisdiction, has been ongoing. 

"SOL’s decentralized nature, high utility, and economic feasibility align with the characteristics of other established digital commodities, reinforcing our belief that SOL may be a valuable commodity with use cases for investors, builders, and entrepreneurs looking for alternatives to the duopoly app stores," Sigel said on Thursday.