Solana ETF Breakthrough: Futures Fund Listed on DTCC, Spot ETF Hopes Soar

Volatility Shares' proposed Solana futures ETFs have been officially listed on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a key infrastructure provider for financial markets.

This listing, the first for any Solana-based exchange-traded product, is being hailed as a crucial step that could pave the way for the highly anticipated approval of a spot Solana ETF , mirroring the path taken by Bitcoin and Ethereum.

For investors unfamiliar with the intricacies of exchange-traded funds, a futures ETF provides exposure to the future price of an asset, in this case, Solana. It does this by investing in futures contracts, agreements to buy or sell Solana at a predetermined price on a future date. This differs from a spot ETF, which would directly hold the underlying asset itself, Solana tokens, offering more direct price exposure.

While futures ETFs exist for Bitcoin and Ethereum, the listing of Volatility Shares' Solana ETF (SOLZ) and 2x Solana ETF (SOLT) on the DTCC is a landmark event. The DTCC is a crucial player in the financial system, providing clearing and settlement services for trades, and its listing is widely seen as a necessary step before an ETF can begin trading on exchanges.

This development has ignited fresh hopes within the Solana community for a spot Solana ETF. Earlier this month, the SEC acknowledged spot Solana ETF filings from multiple issuers, including asset management giants like 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary, and VanEck, and most recently Franklin Templeton , managing over $1.2 trillion in assets, also joined the race.

The SEC opening these applications to public comment was already considered a positive shift, with some analysts seeing it as a potential "about-turn" from the regulator who had previously seemed hesitant towards crypto investment products beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas previously highlighted that Volatility Shares' move to list futures ETFs on the DTCC "bodes well" for the odds of spot Solana ETF approval. He noted that while DTCC listing doesn't guarantee immediate trading, it signals that issuers are actively preparing for launch. Drawing parallels to VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF, which began trading roughly two months after its DTCC listing, optimism is building that a spot Solana ETF could follow a similar trajectory.

The enthusiasm stems from the broader trend of increasing regulatory acceptance towards cryptocurrency investment products in the US. Following the landmark approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, and the subsequent launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, the market is ripe for expansion into other leading cryptocurrencies. Issuers are already exploring exchange-traded products based on other altcoins like XRP, Litecoin, and Dogecoin, indicating a growing appetite for diversified crypto exposure on Wall Street.

While Solana's price is currently experiencing a market-wide dip, trading at around $139, or around 19% down in the past week, the long-term implications of this ETF progress are overwhelmingly positive.