Key Points
- The US SEC has reportedly rejected the 19b-4 filings for Solana ETFs.
- The decision came after the SEC reiterated that Solana is a security.
According to the latest reports, the US SEC has rejected Cboe’s 19b-4 fillings for two prospective Solana ETFs. This resulted in their removal from the Cboe’s official website.
The 19b-4 applications are filed by exchanges on behalf of issuers. If placed in the Federal Register, they start awaiting the approval coming from the US SEC. The S-1 registration statement is filled by issuers in case the 19b-4 filing is approved.
Now, since the US SEC rejected the 19b-4 forms, they haven’t been able to reach the Federal Register and have not started the process towards a potential final approval or denial.
The decision came after conversations between the SEC and Solana ETF issuers regarding concerns over Solana’s label as a security.
Solana ETFs Encounter SEC Resistance
The US SEC reportedly sees Solana as a security, which has been asserted in multiple court filings so far.
Two potential issuers have been planning to launch a Solana ETF: 21Shares and VanEck.
According to the latest reports, 21Shares has stood back on its S-1 form, considering the fact that it’s no longer present in the search results on the SEC’s filing system called EDGAR.
VanEck’s S-1 form is still there and, according to the head of research, Matthew Sigel it remains in play.
Sigel shared a post via his X account, addressing users’ notes that the 19b-4 for the VanEck Solana ETF has been removed from the Cboe website.
He said that people should remember that exchanges such as Nasdaq and Cboe file rule changes to list new ETFs. According to him, issuers like VanEck are responsible for the prospectus (S-1) and theirs remains in play.
He also made it clear in another post that VanEck believes that Solana is a commodity, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to him, this belief is informed by evolving legal perspectives, where courts and regulators have recognized that certain digital assets may function as securities in primary markets but behave more like commodities in secondary markets.
