VanEck's Solana ETF bid still 'in play' after SEC set back

VanEck believes [Solana] is a commodity, much like [Bitcoin] and [Ethereum]," Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, said on social media.

Major crypto issuers are still pushing to get their Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), despite rumors that the regulator initially declined the applications.

21Shares and VanEck filed initial applications with the SEC for their Solana ETFs earlier this summer. However, on Tuesday, rumors emerged that the SEC declined filings from the exchange that would be attached to the ETFs.

The so-called 19b-4 filings are filed by exchanges — in this case, the Cboe — on behalf of issuers like 21Shares and VanEck.

Because the SEC rejected the Cboe's 19b-4 forms, the ETF applications never made it to the Federal Register and haven’t started the process toward a potential approval or denial. It was this process that led to the SEC approving Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs.

The move comes after the SEC underlined that Solana (SOL) is a security, a position that officials at rival issuers like VanEck disagree with.

VanEck's Solana ETF bid still 'in play' after SEC set back

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“VanEck believes [Solana] is a commodity, much like [Bitcoin] and [Ethereum],” Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, said on social media. “This belief is informed by evolving legal perspectives, where courts and regulators have begun to recognize that certain crypto assets may function as securities in primary markets but behave more like commodities in secondary markets.”

Despite the Cboe's apparent setback, 21Shares and VanEck both said the show goes on.

“Remember that exchanges like Nasdaq and CBOE file rule changes (19b-4) to list new ETFs. Issuers like VanEck are responsible for the prospectus (S-1). Ours remains in play,” Sigel added.

"We are unable to comment on the regulatory process at this time. We expand investor access to cryptocurrencies in the U.S. market and around the world," Audrey Belloff, head of communications at 21Shares, told The Block.