Solana Staking ETF Moves Closer To SEC Approval After Key Filing
Bitwise Asset Management has up to date its proposed Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) to explicitly embody “Staking” within the fund’s title and disclosed a 0.20% unitary sponsor charge—one of many lowest headline charges but seen for a US crypto ETF. Bloomberg’s James Seyffart flagged the modification late Wednesday, writing: “NEW: Bitwise recordsdata an replace to their Solana ETF submitting to incorporate Staking within the title and gives the charge. Fee can be 0.20%.”
In follow-up posts, Seyffart added that “no charge for the primary 3 months and for the primary $1 billion in AUM [assets under management]” would apply—an aggressive launch incentive mirroring the fee-war playbook that helped turbocharge spot bitcoin ETFs in the beginning of the yr. Eric Balchunas, his colleague at Bloomberg, underscored the transfer’s competitiveness: “Bitwise not taking part in round, plans to cost simply 0.20% for his or her spot Solana ETF.”
Solana Staking ETF Launch Date Remains Unclear
The modification indicators that issuers and the Securities and Exchange Commission have narrowed excellent points on the construction of spot Solana merchandise that incorporate staking, a characteristic distinctive to proof-of-stake belongings. Earlier within the yr, the SEC requested potential Solana ETF sponsors to submit updated S-1 registration statements—broadly interpreted as a pre-launch step as soon as substantive coverage questions are settled.
Timing stays the important thing variable. The US government shutdown that started on October 1 has compelled the SEC onto skeleton staffing, slowing most non-urgent evaluations and stalling a broad slate of securities registrations. With greater than 90% of the SEC’s workers furloughed, routine providing and itemizing processes are largely paused—an overhang that would push again crypto ETF efficient dates even because the paperwork advances. As Seyffart put it when requested whether or not a shutdown would delay approval: “Yes. I consider so.”
Even with that backdrop, Bitwise’s pricing telegraphs a assured, bare-knuckle method to market share. A 20-basis-point charge locations the proposed Solana Staking ETF at or under the decrease finish of the charge spectrum that helped bitcoin ETFs achieve mass adoption, and it lands amid a broader “fee-first” arms race that has repeatedly confirmed decisive in ETFs’ opening months. Balchunas has lengthy argued that “low charges have an virtually good document in attracting traders,” a sample that crypto ETPs have carefully adopted.
What occurs subsequent will hinge on two tracks. Procedurally, the SEC should permit up to date S-1s to go efficient earlier than buying and selling can start; virtually, the shutdown will dictate when workers can finalize these evaluations. Strategically, Bitwise’s resolution to enshrine staking within the fund’s title and to guide with an ultra-low charge units the aggressive tone for rival Solana filings, and—as soon as Washington reopens—positions the product to capitalize on pent-up demand the second the window clears.
In parallel to Bitwise, different spot SOL issuers on the SEC’s docket embody VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary—every going through closing 240-day resolution dates on October 16, 2025—alongside Grayscale’s proposed conversion of its Solana belief, which carries an earlier October 10, 2025 deadline. Franklin Templeton’s closing date is November 14, 2025, Fidelity’s is December 5, 2025, and an Invesco Galaxy product runs to April 16, 2026. These dates replicate the SEC’s 19b-4 clock that started when Cboe first filed to listing the SOL ETFs; S-1 effectiveness would nonetheless be required for buying and selling to begin.
At press time, SOL traded at $227.