Will Solana ETFs Be Approved In 2025? This Industry Expert Weighs In

Sol Strategies CEO Leah Wald doubts spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will be approved in the United States in 2025. Despite surging interest in SOL and its ecosystem, Wald thinks regulatory hurdles and the leadership change at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will delay any immediate approval of spot SOL ETFs.

No U.S. SOL ETFs In 2025?

Sol Strategies Leah Wald recently told Blockworks that she doesn’t expect U.S. regulators to greenlight ETFs based on the Solana cryptocurrency in the near future.

“I think there’s quite a while until a SOL ETF gets approved,” Wald said during the interview, adding that educating regulators about Solana’s unique qualities could take a year or more. 

A U.S. spot SOL ETF, if approved, would give traditional investors direct exposure to the sixth-biggest digital coin. SOL is now trading hands for just over $255, according to CoinGecko data. At current prices, Solana was 27.2% away from its all-time high price set on Nov. 23, 2024.

Wald noted that while the imminent leadership change at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could result in a more favorable regulatory environment, approvals cannot be rushed. According to the CEO, incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins, approving all crypto-based ETFs overnight would be a dangerous move.

Wald further suggested that Canada is more likely to beat the US in approving spot SOL products. She cited Canadian crypto issuer 3iQ, which has historically approved these cryptocurrency investment vehicles before the United States.

“Canada has consistently led the way in ETF innovation, and I expect they’ll do so again with a Solana ETF,” she quipped.

At least five popular asset managers, including asset management giants VanEck, Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary Capital are vying for a spot Solana ETF.

The deadline for Grayscale’s SOL ETF filing is Jan. 23, while the four other would-be issuers expect a preliminary decision from the SEC by Jan. 25 — which is 45 days after the SEC officially accepted the ETF filing for review in November 2024.

Notably, Brazil gave the regulatory nod to its first Solana ETF on Aug. 7, setting a precedent for other regions. As ZyCrypto reported, on Jan. 1, popular crypto prediction platform Polymarket said the odds of a US SOL ETF going live in 2025 were around 85%. Polymarket’s optimistic forecast mirrors industrywide expectations of more US crypto ETF listings after President-elect Donald Trump notched victory in the November election. Pro-crypto Trump has previously laid out an ambitious plan to make America “the crypto capital of the planet”.