Despite growing rumors that the world’s largest asset manager may file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a Solana ETF, BlackRock CEO Samara Cohen has ruled out the possibility, at least in the near future.
BlackRock Pours Cold Water on Solana ETF Hopes
at recent days interview In an interview with Bloomberg, Samara Cohen, chief investment officer of exchange-traded funds at BlackRock, acknowledged that the company was not actively pursuing a Solana ETF in the near term, citing a lack of client demand and concerns about the overall maturity of the Solana ecosystem.
“For us, both in terms of investability considerations and what we hear from our clients, Bitcoin and Ethereum definitely meet that criteria,” Cohen said. “I think it’s going to be a while before we see anything else.”
This sentiment is consistent with the words of Robert Michnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, at the Bitcoin 2024 conference over the weekend, who also expressed skepticism about adding a Solana ETF to the company’s product suite.
Mechanic Cited There are a number of reasons, including Solana’s alleged lack of maturity, liquidity, and performance track record. network Compared to the more established Bitcoin and Ethereum markets, however, the path ahead for the Solana ETF may be clear for other asset managers, despite BlackRock’s hesitation.
Solana drops ‘security’ label
As a Bitcoinist Reported Earlier today, the latest amendment to the SEC’s complaint in the case against Binance resulted in SOL no longer being defined as a security by the regulator. It is worth noting that this move could pave the way for asset managers to gain approval for Solana-based ETFs, where the classification of assets as securities has been a potential hurdle.
While BlackRock remains on the sidelines, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) has expressed support for Solana ETF applications submitted by asset managers VanEck and 21Shares ETF.
Industry Expert Nate Geraci open Cboe announced that it has filed Form 19b-4 for both Solana ETF proposals, signaling the start of the regulatory review process. Under SEC guidelines, the agency has 240 days to approve or deny Cboe’s applications, setting a potential deadline for a decision in early March 2025.
Since BlackRock may not jump on the Solana ETF bandwagon just yet, the shift Regulatory landscape The increase in interest from other major players in the industry suggests that the prospects for a Solana-backed ETF may be improving.
Despite the positive news in the past hours, SOL stock is currently trading at $180.30, recording losses of about 5% in the 24-hour time frame. However, over the past few days, the token has surpassed Binance Coin (BNB) in terms of market cap, claiming the title of the fourth-largest cryptocurrency on the market with a market cap of $83.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. Data.
Featured image by DALL-E, chart by TradingView.com