Bloomberg analyst: Solana ETF may not be available until 2026

Author: Alex O'Donnell, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Tao Zhu, Golden Finance

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart said on January 16 that even under a cryptocurrency-friendly White House, the Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) may not be launched in the United States until 2026.

Seyffart told Blockworks in an interview that issuers "may see a lag" in applications for the Solana ETF after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

However, " because of the SEC's precedent of taking 240-260 days to review an application, the timeline could be extended to 2026," Seyffart said.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is filing a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange alleging that SOL constituted an unregistered security, further complicating the review process, he said.

“SEC Enforcement’s assertion that Solana is a security prevents other SEC divisions from conducting commodity ETF wrapper analysis,” Seyffart said.

The market is betting on the possibility of Solana ETF approval. Source: Polymarket

Changing regulatory environment

Trump, who has pledged to turn the United States into the "cryptocurrency capital of the world," plans to appoint crypto-industry-friendly leaders to lead major financial regulators including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Under President Joe Biden, the SEC has taken an aggressive regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies, taking hundreds of actions against companies in the industry.

In 2024, the agency authorized issuers to list spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in January and July respectively.

However, other ETF applications, including several proposed spot SOL ETFs, have stalled.

“Many Solana ETF applications have been filed but not recognized by the SEC—they have actually been rejected outright,” Seyffart said.

In 2024, asset managers filed a series of regulatory filings to list ETFs holding altcoins, including SOL, XRP, and Litecoin, among others.

The issuer is also awaiting approval for several planned crypto index ETFs designed to hold multiple digital tokens.

In effect, the filings are "call options for a Trump victory" in the U.S. presidential race, Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in October.

Not everyone agrees with Seyffart. In November, VanEck head of digital asset research Matthew Sigel said the likelihood of the SOL ETF listing in the U.S. before the end of 2025 was “extremely high.”