21Shares files S-1 for spot Solana ETF in the US

The Block Illustration by Iris Cho for The Block

Quick Take

21Shares is the second firm in as many days to file to launch a SOL exchange-traded fund in the U.S.
Like VanEck, the firm also believes Solana’s native token should be treated as a commodity.
The SEC’s Enforcement Division has already said SOL is a security — which may be a serious roadblock to launching these funds, experts say.

Investment firm 21Shares has filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a Solana-based exchange-traded fund, one day after rival VanEck submitted a similar filing.

This is the second SOL ETF filing in the U.S. in as many days and confirmation of some analysts’ prediction that VanEck’s June 27 filing would open the floodgates to competitors seeking to launch Solana-based funds.

"21Shares is excited by the potential for an ETF in the US that provides access to the Solana ecosystem. We believe this is a necessary step for the crypto industry and it holds true to our mission to bring to market easily accessible financial products centered around crypto assets,” Andrew Jacobson, head of legal at 21Shares, said in a statement shared with The Block.

SOL was trading at $143 at publication time, down 4% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s price page.

The Zurich, Switzerland-based 21Shares already manages a physically-backed Solana Staking exchange-traded product with over $846 million in assets under management. It also manages a bitcoin ETF that trades on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Likewise, the 21Shares Core Solana ETF would also trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange (as would the VanEck Solana Trust). According to the company’s S-1 filing, redemptions would be made in-kind (i.e., in SOL rather than cash), in line with other “exchange-traded products for spot-market commodities other than SOL.”

Despite increased interested from prospective issuers, legal experts have told The Block it is unlikely SOL ETFs will pass the SEC’s muster for a variety of reasons including the lack of a regulated futures market for SOL and the SEC Enforcement Decision’s previous declaration that the asset is a security.

“While including a crypto token in a CME futures contract has legal precedent, it should not be the sole criterion for ETF eligibility,” Jacobson said, adding “many cryptocurrencies qualify” to become tradable ETFs. “We look forward to expanding access to crypto as an asset class and view the ETF wrapper as one way to do that.”

21Shares SOL fund will custody its funds with Coinbase Custody.

Matthew Sigel, head of research at VanEck, told The Block the time is right for SOL ETF approvals considering the network is as decentralized as Ethereum, which will soon see its own series of ETFs go live.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.