In stark contrast, Brazil approved its second Solana ETF this month, while prospects of a similar investment product in the US appear bleak.
What Happened: The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighted the ETF offered by Brazilian cryptocurrency asset manager Hashdex, Coindesk reported Tuesday. The fund was in a pre-operational phase as of this writing.
The clearance comes roughly two weeks after the securities regulator approved the first such investment vehicle in the South American country. This ETF is offered by asset management company QR Asset.
While things appeared to be moving quickly in Brazil, uncertainty and pessimism clouded the path to approvals in the US.
The SEC has rejected exchange operator Cboe BZX’s 19b-4 filings for two prospective spot Solana ETFs by VanEck and 21Shares, leading to their withdrawal from the Cboe website.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the possibility of approval is minimal unless there is a leadership change at the regulatory level.
“Yes, near-zero chance in 2024 and if Harris wins there’s prob near-zero chance in 2025 too. Only hope IMO is if Trump wins,” Balchunas said.
Why It Matters: The rejection dealt a significant blow to Wall Street investors who hoped to bet on the price moves of the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Matthew Sigel, the Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, said that the company considers SOL a commodity amid reports that the SEC’s rejection stemmed from concerns over the cryptocurrency’s status as a security.
Price Action: At the time of writing, SOL was trading at $143.00, down 2.78% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. It was unclear whether the drop was caused by regulatory uncertainty or a result of a broader market dip.
Lauren Parker, for ICN dot live