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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly raised concerns with potential Solana ETF issuers about the cryptocurrency possibly being classified as a security.
Citing sources familiar with the situation, The Block reported that related 19b-4 filings were pulled from the Cboe BZX exchange’s website.
The SEC’s concerns resulted in the rejection of the 19b-4 forms, which are essential for ETF approval. These forms, typically filed by exchanges on behalf of issuers, were not submitted to the Federal Register, which would have triggered the SEC’s formal review process.
Without these filings, the approval process for Solana ETFs cannot proceed, relieving the SEC from immediate pressure to make a decision.
Over the weekend, the 19b-4 filings were no longer visible on the Cboe website and had not been added to the Federal Register. Although the S-1 registration statement for VanEck’s Solana ETF is still available on the SEC’s EDGAR filing system, the S-1 filing for 21Shares no longer appears in search results, though the direct link remains active.
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The SEC’s stance on Solana was not unexpected, as the agency previously labeled Solana as a security in various court filings. Issuers are now considering new filings or amendments to the 19b-4 forms to argue more effectively that Solana should not be classified as a security.
“We are unable to comment on the regulatory process at this time. We remain committed to expanding investor access to cryptocurrencies in the U.S. market and around the world,” said Audrey Belloff, head of communications at 21Shares.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have successfully cleared regulatory hurdles and started trading, market analysts have remained skeptical about the chances for Solana ETFs.
Nate Geraci, president of investment advisor The ETF Store, suggested that Solana ETFs are unlikely to gain approval under the current Biden Administration. Bloomberg Intelligence’s ETF expert James Seyffart also said that Solana ETFs might only have a chance of approval in 2025, contingent on a change in the White House and SEC administration.