A Solana exchange-traded product may not exist in the U.S. yet, but until the SEC approves such funds, asset managers are feeding an apparent appetite from European investors for products related to the sixth-biggest digital coin.
Crypto asset manager Bitwise today announced its new Solana Staking ETP, which will trade in Germany on the Deutsche Börse AG. The fund gives investors the chance to earn bigger returns compared to other SOL products, Bitwise said, because it uses a staking mechanism.
Staking refers to the process of “locking up” digital coins or tokens to help keep a crypto network running. Proof-of-stake networks like Solana reward users who pledge their coins to the network by providing yield in the form of additional tokens.
Bitwise said in a Wednesday statement that the fund will give investors a “low-cost, liquid, and transparent investment vehicle for staked SOL exposure.” Blockworks first reported the news Tuesday ahead of the official announcement.
SOL is the coin running on Solana, its native blockchain. The Solana network is used by developers for everything from building DeFi or decentralized finance apps to launching meme coins or creating games.
The Solana ecosystem competes with Ethereum, the network behind ETH, by offering cheaper and faster transactions.
A number of top asset managers in the U.S.—including VanEck and 21Shares—have filed paperwork to launch a spot Solana ETF. Such a fund would allow investors to buy shares that track the price of SOL. Bitwise itself took a first step towards such a U.S. filing in November, as well.
But staking is a controversial topic in the U.S. as the SEC has sued crypto exchanges for allegedly violating securities laws with staking products. The regulator has also previously alleged that SOL is an unregistered security.
However, with Donald Trump returning to the White House on a pro-crypto platform and SEC Chair Gary Gensler resigning as of January 20, 2025, investors and analysts alike are increasingly optimistic that such regulatory hurdles will soon be cleared. It’s part of what drove SOL to a new all-time high price in November, following Election Day.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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