The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has classified Solana (SOL) as a possible securities, which has impeded the launch of SOL ETFs. As a result, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) has withdrawn the necessary 19b-4 forms from its website, causing a delay in the certification process.
The SEC concerns have resulted in the withdrawal of VanEck and 21Shares’ 19b-4 forms, which are crucial documentation for the listing of an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), from the website of the Cboe Global Markets.
The US SEC has contacted possible issuers to express its worries regarding SOL’s security categorization. As a result, both the SEC and the Cboe have refrained from submitting the 19b-4 forms to the Federal Register.
Consequently, the clearance process for these ETFs has come to a halt. The SEC’s continued skepticism towards Solana and similar assets is emphasized by this development. According to experts, the approval of a Solana ETF is unlikely to happen before 2025, if it happens at all.
In June 2023, the SEC categorized 12 tokens, including SOL, as securities in legal actions against crypto exchanges, establishing their position. The SEC contends that these tokens have been marketed and sold as investment contracts, so classifying them as securities. This strategy, commonly referred to as “regulation by enforcement,” has faced criticism from the crypto industry.
Amidst the regulatory constraints faced by the United States, there is a growing concern that the country is lagging behind in the competition to launch Solana ETFs.
David Tawil, the co-founder and president of ProChain Capital, expressed the belief that Canada will achieve success once again with a SOL ETF. This reflects a rising worry that other countries may surpass the United States in embracing crypto advancements, which might result in the U.S. losing its competitive advantage in the swiftly expanding crypto sector.
