Solana supporters are bullish on the prospects of the SOL price skyrocketing. Anthony Scaramucci, co-founder of SkyBridge Capital, believes that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will grant approval for a Spot Solana ETF. This comes after the SEC’s recent approval of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in 2024.
Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of BKCM LLC and a CNBC contributor, shares Scaramucci’s optimism and predicts the eventual approval of a spot SOL ETF. He considers Solana to be one of the “big three” cryptocurrencies, alongside Bitcoin and Ether.
However, there are concerns about whether the SEC will actually approve a Solana ETF. The regulatory body previously classified SOL as an “unregistered security” in its lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase. This suggests that there may be significant regulatory challenges to overcome before a mainstream SOL investment vehicle can be launched.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum have been classified as commodities by the SEC, providing a smoother path to ETF approval, the regulatory landscape for Ethereum remains uncertain. The SEC has taken legal action against Coinbase and Kraken for offering staking services, which implies that coins like SOL and ETH could be considered securities. To navigate these complexities, issuers of spot ETFs for Ethereum had to exclude any references to ETH staking in their filings.
James Seyffart, a Bloomberg crypto and ETF analyst, casts doubt on the demand for altcoin ETFs. He specifically mentions that altcoins like Litecoin and Dogecoin may not generate much interest. This suggests that while there is excitement about a SOL ETF, the actual market demand for it could be limited.