Grayscale's Spot Solana ETF Decision Delayed Until October 2025

In a recent filing, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would delay a decision on Grayscale’s proposed spot Solana ETF until October 2025.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to delay a decision on Grayscale’s proposed spot Solana ETF until October 2025, according to a recent filing.

The fund, which would trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is one of several altcoin ETFs awaiting regulatory clarity. Just a week ago, the Commission postponed its ruling on Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF.

These delays are part of a broader pattern that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, said James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF analyst.

While Solana and Litecoin face regulatory pause, the SEC is now soliciting public comment on a major change to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust: in-kind redemptions, as per a filing on the same day.

The proposed amendment would allow authorised participants to create or redeem ETF shares using Bitcoin itself instead of cash, a structural shift that many see as critical to improving efficiency and reducing friction in ETF operations. When the fund was approved in January, it was limited to cash-only transactions.

The public comment window on Nasdaq’s proposed rule change is now open, giving stakeholders a chance to weigh in on whether the SEC should approve the new redemption mechanism.

Also entering its comment phase is the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF. Filed under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d), the fund would track DOGE via a CF Benchmarks index and offer investors traditional brokerage access to the meme coin.

Though seen as a long shot, the filing reflects growing interest in packaging high-volume altcoins into accessible, regulated products. Whether the SEC ultimately approves it is another question entirely.

Solana is facing renewed sell pressure from major holders, just as the network continues to post record-breaking performance.

On May 12, on-chain data flagged a wave of significant unstaking and exchange activity. One whale unstaked 103,040 SOL, roughly US$17M (AU$26M) at current prices, while a wallet tied to the bankrupt FTX/Alameda estate released another 187,625 SOL, worth over US$32M (AU$49M).

The timing suggests large holders are locking in gains after Solana’s recent price run, which rallied over 20% in the last seven days alone.

Despite the heavy moves, Solana led all blockchains in Q1 2025 revenue, pulling in over US$200M (AU$310M) and beating Ethereum (ETH), according to DefiLlama. Moreover, in the past 30 days, the network has handled more than US$81.8B (AU$1.8B) in DEX volume, according to DeFiLlama, capturing 24.25% of the market and ranking first by DEX activity.