As Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs have achieved success one after another, market attention is quickly focusing on the approval progress of the Solana (SOL) spot ETF. Recently, a series of positive actions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have led the industry to generally expect that the launch date of the SOL ETF may be significantly advanced to July 2025, rather than the initially expected October.
In early June, the SEC officially requested SOL ETF issuers to submit revised S-1 documents within a week, focusing on two core issues:
This move is interpreted by the market as a key signal for the acceleration of the approval process. Despite the SEC’s stance on Grayscale Solana The final statutory deadline for applications such as Trust is October 16, but mainstream analysts predict that with process optimization, the approval date could be significantly advanced to July or within the next 3-5 weeks.
The SEC specifically mentioned its open attitude towards the staking mechanism in the revised requirements, drawing significant market attention. If the approved ETF ultimately includes a staking function, investors can gain additional income on top of asset appreciation, significantly enhancing the product’s attractiveness.
Previously, the SEC questioned whether the staking design could classify the SOL ETF as an “investment company,” violating the Investment Company Act. However, Canada took the lead in approving the world’s first spot SOL ETF with staking functionality in April 2025, which provides an important reference for U.S. regulation.
The regulatory environment is shifting towards looseness. This is the core support for the optimistic prospects of the SOL ETF. The SEC has recently reduced its litigation offensive against cryptocurrencies, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched SOL futures in February — this path is highly similar to the process prior to the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Political variables are equally critical. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out that if Trump wins the presidential election, the approval probability of the SOL ETF will further increase. VanEck’s head of research, Matthew Sigel, bluntly stated that the 84% approval probability given by the prediction market Polymarket is still a “conservative estimate.”
Currently, the market performance of SOL is under short-term pressure (trading at around 151 USD, below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages), but on-chain data shows that its ecosystem stablecoin market cap has surpassed 13 billion USD, with network activity continuously rising, providing fundamental support for ETF.
If the SEC approves the SOL ETF in July (especially products that include staking features), it will have a threefold impact:
With the submission of revised documents, the SEC’s decision has entered the final evaluation stage. The market needs to closely monitor the political developments and regulatory statements in mid to late July, as this will be a critical leap for SOL from the public chain ecosystem to the mainstream financial market.