Looks like the industry again has to wait for any status of the Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings of VanEck and 21Shares. Why? Well, as of today, 17th August, VanEck and 21Shares’ filings for a Solana ETF are no longer available on the Cboe website.
The filings, which were key steps towards launching a spot Solana ETF, have disappeared from the Cboe BZX Exchange’s pending rule changes section. This development raises questions about the status of these applications.
Solana ETFs Filing Forms Removed
An X(Twitter) account named SummerThings pointed out that the relevant filings are known as SR-CboeBZX-2024-066 and SR-CboeBZX-2024-067.
The filings were made on July 8, of this year. These documents came after nine spot Ethereum ETFs were recently approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States. But for these Solana ETF applications, the SEC has not yet sent out Notices of Filing, which are required for their evaluation and assessment.
There has been conjecture over the potential withdrawal of VanEck and 21Shares’ applications due to the lack of these documents. This is noteworthy since it follows both businesses’ attempts to build on their earlier success with spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were authorised in January following much thought.
To introduce spot ETFs connected to Ethereum, VanEck and 21Shares, two well-known asset managers in the industry, have been waiting for SEC approval.
The sudden removal of their Solana ETF files may be a portent of more regulatory obstacles for the cryptocurrency sector, especially in the United States where these obstacles have frequently arisen.
Did Gary Gensler Do This?
General counsel at Van Buren Capital Scott Johnsson said that this move aligns with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s views on cryptocurrencies. According to Johnsson, the Gensler administration’s unwillingness to allow new financial products related to cryptocurrencies may have been the reason behind the rejection of the Solana ETF registrations.
Johnsson speculates that because of Gensler’s seeming hostility to cryptocurrencies, the SEC may have rejected these applications inadvertently rather than issuing a formal, reviewable disapproving order.
The way the SEC has handled these files is indicative of the continuous conflict between regulatory monitoring and the innovation of cryptocurrencies.
The sudden deletion of these filings without any explanation brings to light the ambiguity and difficulty that companies who want to launch new financial products involving digital assets face.