The race to launch the first U.S. Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) has intensified. Several asset managers, including Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Fidelity, Grayscale, CoinShares, and Bitwise, have all submitted amended S-1 registration statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These new filings are not entirely new proposals. Instead, they illuminate prior submissions , demonstrating that issuers continuously dialogue with regulators. Industry observers consider a figure of that magnitude as evidence that something is happening behind the scenes, even if a green light hasn’t been given. The changes are not superficial. Certain filings provide granular details about staking strategies, fee regimes, and redemption mechanisms. For example, the digital asset investment firm Grayscale announced plans to levy a 2.5% fee that would be paid in Solana tokens. Others have specified how in-kind redemptions might work, as one could convert ETF shares into Solana rather than cash. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart recently observed that the flood of filings demonstrates that the SEC is working with several firms concurrently. The increasing number of submissions proves Solana’s ascent into a serious institutional-grade product. It is now viewed as no longer a purely retailer-driven token but one that large managers can’t wait to package for regulated markets. In addition to the historical audit trail, he says that Solana’s GDP data implementation proves that the network has begun to be seen as legitimate beyond finance products. Marinade takes sole staking role as custody and transparency improve One of the most significant updates in Canary Capital’s revised filing is the designation of Marinade Select as the exclusive staking provider for its proposed Solana ETF, marking the first time a U.S. ETF has outlined a clear, institutional-grade staking framework. According to the filing, most of the ETF’s Solana holdings will be staked with Marinade for at least two years. Staking rewards will be auto-compounded after fees, aiding in bumping the fund’s net asset value. This introduces a yield factor to the ETF, and may make it more appealing to investors than pure passive crypto offerings. More specificity has also been outlined on custody arrangements. Assets will be divided between hot and cold wallets, with the custodian exclusively holding private keys. Investors themselves will not handle the tokens, but the filings warn that custody risks, like hacks or system failures, cannot be eliminated. In response to concerns about transparency, the ETF’s website will disclose daily information such as net asset value, full holdings, and whether the shares are trading at a premium or discount. The updated filings also include a discussion of the risks, updated to cover some recent accusations more thoroughly. They also now accommodate the ability that validators fail, the network goes offline, slashing might occur, or the trust may ignore certain forks and airdrops. Staking rules shape Solana ETF prospects While several players are tweaking their proposals and others are in the regulators’ review process, the Solana ETF race is heating up. There will likely be a vested Solana ETF, as most crypto ETFs are pure play, except Ethereum, where the SEC had more comfort, given the amount of physical ETH. The stakes are significant. Approval would signal that investors could get regulated exposure to Solana just as they now can with Bitcoin and Ethereum. These ETFs will pioneer new yield-generating strategies inside a regulated product if staking capabilities are allowed. The push indicates a broader trend for asset managers: cooperation with regulators, not confrontation. Issuers intend to conform to the SEC-led standards by revising and providing clarity. For investors, it signals the possibility that Solana, a risky, experimental blockchain not long ago, is on its way to becoming a mainstream financial asset. The result is still far from certain, but the latest filings suggest clear advances. The SEC’s response will not just impact Solana, but it could also determine the fate of crypto ETFs in the U.S. Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.
