Volatility Shares Plans Solana Futures ETF Despite Lack of SOL Futures Contracts

A
curious
filing
appeared
on
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
database
on
Friday,
hinting
at
the
potential
for
a
new
financial
product
offering
centered
around
Solana
(SOL)
futures.
The
filing,
submitted
by
Volatility
Shares,
a
Florida-based
leveraged
ETF
specialist,
proposed
a
Solana
futures
Exchange
Traded
Fund
(ETF).
The
caveat,
however,
is
that
no
such
SOL
futures
contracts
currently
exist.

Despite
the
non-existence
of
SOL
futures
contracts,
the
industry
reaction
to
the
filing
has
been
largely
positive.
ETF
analysts
have
suggested
that
the
filing
could
pave
the
way
for
the
approval
of
spot
Solana
ETFs
in
the
future,
possibly
by
2025.
Bitwise
CEO
Hunter
Horsley
suggested
in
a
direct
message
that
this
filing
might
be
indicative
of
a
wider
range
of
products
being
available
under
the
leadership
of
Paul
Atkins,
the
SEC
chair.

Interestingly,
Volatility
Shares
is
no
stranger
to
nonconsensus
products.
The
firm
previously
played
a
pivotal
role
in
the
approval
of
a
leveraged
bitcoin
futures
ETF
by
arguing
that
it
posed
greater
risks
than
the
proposed
spot
bitcoin
ETF
by
Grayscale,
thereby
setting
a
precedent
for
the
approval
of
the
latter.

In
the
current
scenario,
Volatility
Shares’
Solana
futures
ETF
promises
to
offer
investors
exposure
to
twice
or
the
inverse
of
the
daily
price
change
of
SOL
futures.
While
SOL
futures
currently
do
not
trade
(unlike
bitcoin
and
ether,
both
of
which
have
futures
trading
on
the
CME),
Bloomberg
analyst
Eric
Balchunas
regards
the
filing
as
an
indication
that
SOL
futures
might
soon
be
on
the
horizon.

Regulatory
bodies
might
be
more
inclined
to
approve
spot
ETFs
if
they
observe
a
robust
and
liquid
market
for
SOL
trading,
according
to
Leah
Wald,
CEO
of
Sol
Strategies.
She
highlighted
that
approvals
for
bitcoin
and
ether
ETFs
came
only
after
CME
futures
commenced
trading.

Historically,
the
availability
of
futures
was
considered
a
prerequisite
for
the
approval
of
crypto
ETFs.
However,
the
dynamics
changed
with
the
potential
end
of
Gary
Gensler’s
tenure
as
SEC
chair
following
a
possible
Trump
electoral
victory.
Despite
the
absence
of
futures,
at
least
five
firms
have
filed
for
spot
SOL
ETFs
in
the
past
six
months.

Nonetheless,
the
availability
of
a
futures
market
would
likely
increase
the
chances
of
spot
SOL
ETFs
getting
approved.
Nate
Geraci,
the
president
of
The
ETF
Store,
expressed
his
confidence
in
a
social
media
post,
predicting
that
spot
Solana
ETFs
would
get
approved
in
2025.

While
the
industry
continues
to
speculate,
this
development
underscores
the
dynamic
and
evolving
nature
of
the
cryptocurrency
market.
It
also
highlights
the
growing
interest
in
Solana,
a
high-performance
blockchain
platform,
among
institutional
investors.