SEC Forces Withdrawal of Solana ETF Proposals

According to information from The Block, Cboe BZX—a leading U.S. stock exchange—was forced to withdraw the Solana spot ETF proposals from VanEck and 21Shares. This move came just weeks after the proposals were initially announced in early July 2023.

The primary reason for this action stems from pressure by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC held a meeting with Cboe, emphasizing that Solana (SOL) still falls under the category of “securities.”

Under this pressure, VanEck swiftly withdrew the Solana ETF registration before it could be published in the Federal Register—marking the start of the countdown for the SEC to make an official decision. However, at the time of writing, the registration forms from VanEck and 21Shares are still available on the SEC’s information portal.

Solana is among the cryptocurrencies listed as “securities in question” by the SEC in its lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase in June 2023.

However, by late July, the SEC informed Binance of its intention to revise the charges related to categorizing SOL as a security. Yet, the SEC’s new stance remains unclear.

After Bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana has been anticipated by both major institutions and individual investors to be the next cryptocurrency to receive an ETF. Nevertheless, apart from unresolved legal issues, Solana currently lacks an ETF futures—a necessary step toward establishing a spot ETF, similar to what occurred with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Recently, the SEC concluded its lawsuit against Ripple and XRP, requiring Ripple to pay a $125 million fine for past violations during its offerings. However, the SEC could not universally label XRP as a security.

Solana (SOL) Price Movement

Following this news, the price of SOL has not seen significant volatility and is even showing signs of recovery in line with the broader market. Currently, SOL is trading around $146, up 2% from the previous day.