US SEC delays decision on Solana ETF proposals from Bitwise and 21Shares to October

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission postponed its decision on whether to approve proposals for Solana exchange-traded funds. 

In filings on Thursday, the SEC said its next deadline is set for Oct. 16 for the Bitwise Solana ETF and the 21Shares Core Solana ETF. 

"The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change, and the issues raised therein," according both filings.

The SEC’s move is consistent with its pattern of extending deadlines on similar crypto-related ETF proposals. Other applications for Solana ETFs, including those from Grayscale and Fidelity, have also faced delays, which are routine for the agency. The SEC has received an uptick in proposals for dozens of types of crypto ETFs, ranging from ones tracking XRP to DOGE in the wake of a friendlier presidential administration. 

Proposals for SOL ETFs are progressing as firms last month made changes to their filings in a way to get the SEC's sign off. Firms including Proshares, Grayscale, Canary, 21Shares and others are all waiting for the agency's greenlight. The world's largest asset manager BlackRock, which currently lists and trades bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs is not on that list and told The Block last week that it does not have plans to launch a SOL fund.

The SEC’s posture toward crypto ETFs has changed notably over the past year. In July, the agency voted to approve orders to allow in-kind creations and redemptions by authorized participants for crypto ETFs. The agency also then allowed applications looking to list and trade spot bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and as well as options on "certain spot bitcoin ETPs."

During the Biden administration, the SEC greenlighted spot bitcoin ETFs and later Ethereum ETFs, following a pivotal court ruling.