Canada Beats US to the Punch: First-Ever Spot Solana ETFs Landing This Week

TLDR

Table of Contents

Canada is launching the world’s first spot Solana ETFs with staking capabilities on Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Four asset managers (Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ) received approval from the Ontario Securities Commission
The ETFs will invest in physical SOL and engage in staking to earn rewards
US regulators have not yet approved spot altcoin ETFs or staking for crypto ETFs
Current Solana futures ETFs in the US have attracted limited interest with only around $5 million in assets

Canada is set to introduce the world’s first spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with staking capabilities this week. According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, these new investment products will begin trading on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

Canada is readying spot Solana ETFs to launch this week after regulator gave green light to multiple issuers incl Purpose, Evolve, CI and 3iQ. ETFs will include staking via TD pic.twitter.com/FSw149Xkm4
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 14, 2025

A circular from Toronto-Dominion Bank revealed that the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), which oversees the Toronto Stock Exchange, has approved four asset managers to list these innovative products. The managers include Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ.

“The OSC today gave the go-ahead to ETF issuers, including Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ, to list the world’s first spot Solana ETFs in Canada,” the circular states. These ETFs will hold Solana in physical form while tracking different indices.

A key feature of these new ETFs is their staking capability. The funds will engage in staking activities to earn rewards, potentially providing higher yields than Ethereum staking while reducing overall ETF holding costs.

Canada Leads in Crypto ETF Innovation

This is not the first time Canada has taken the lead in crypto ETF innovation. The country approved its first spot Bitcoin ETF in February 2021, well before the United States.

The upcoming Solana ETF launch reflects a broader global interest in spot crypto ETFs. In January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally approved the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs after years of resistance.

That approval has triggered a wave of filings for other digital assets in the United States. Asset managers including WisdomTree, Bitwise, 21Shares, Franklin Templeton, and Canary Capital have submitted proposals for altcoin-based spot ETFs focusing on assets like XRP and Solana.

However, none of these applications have received regulatory approval in the U.S. yet. The SEC has only approved funds holding spot Bitcoin and Ethereum for trading to date.

Staking: The Next Frontier

Staking has emerged as a key feature in the next generation of crypto ETFs. While Canadian regulators have embraced this approach, U.S. authorities remain cautious.

On Monday, the SEC delayed a decision on Grayscale’s proposal to include staking in its spot Ethereum ETF. The Commission extended the review period to June 1, 2025, citing the need for further analysis.

To date, the SEC has not approved staking in any ETF. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart has projected that U.S.-listed ETFs could gain permission to engage in staking by late 2025, depending on regulatory developments.

Balchunas noted that existing Solana ETFs in the U.S. that track futures have attracted very little in assets under management. “The 2x XRP already has more AUM than both the Solana ETFs, and it came out after,” he wrote.

Volatility Shares’ SOL futures ETF (SOLZ) has seen a lukewarm reception in the U.S., attracting only around $5 million in net assets as of April 14, according to its website. However, Balchunas cautioned against reading too much into this as a predictor for spot SOL ETFs.

Solana is currently trading at $129.97, down 2.2% over the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. The cryptocurrency has seen price volatility in recent days, with SOL gaining 12.5% in the 24 hours following President Trump’s announcement of a pause on his tariff plan.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Australian markets have also introduced regulated spot crypto ETFs. This reflects a broader push among institutional investors for compliant digital asset exposure.

The OSC stated that the approval and oversight of SOL ETFs are in accordance with a January notice outlining amended rules for publicly traded funds holding cryptocurrencies. This regulatory clarity has paved the way for these innovative investment products.

“There is all this frothy excitement in the market about these ETFs coming, and no one can point to where substantial demand is going to come from,” Katalin Tischhauser, crypto bank Sygnum’s research head, previously told Cointelegraph, suggesting that investor demand for altcoin ETFs may be weaker than for funds holding core cryptocurrencies.

The launch of spot Solana ETFs in Canada represents another step forward in the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency investment products. These ETFs offer traditional investors exposure to Solana without the complexities of direct cryptocurrency ownership.

The Canadian ETFs’ staking capabilities also highlight the growing interest in generating yield from crypto assets through regulated investment vehicles. This approach may set a precedent for future crypto ETF developments globally.

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