Four asset managers — Purpose, Evolve, CI, and 3iQ — will launch Solana spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Canada on April 16. The funds will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange following approval by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). The ETFs will include Solana (SOL) staking capabilities, which could result in higher returns than staking Ethereum. The approval marks the first Solana spot ETF offering and is part of a regulatory update in Canada that allows cryptocurrency-related investment products to be publicly traded.
The OSC’s move to approve the ETFs follows regulatory changes proposed in January that would allow publicly traded funds to hold cryptocurrencies. While Canada is launching these ETFs, the United States has yet to approve a similar product for Solana. In the U.S., several companies, including Grayscale, Bitwise, and VanEck, have filed applications to launch Solana spot ETFs, but are still awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Unlike Canada, U.S. cryptocurrency ETFs currently do not allow for additional yields from staking digital assets like Solana.
The approval from the Ontario Securities Commission is seen as a major move for the altcoin ETF market. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, noted that these upcoming funds will be the first to see how altcoins like Solana perform in the ETF space. These ETFs will allow Canadian investors to invest in Solana without directly holding Solana tokens. It is expected that these funds will help further institutionalize the Canadian cryptocurrency market.
The approval puts Canada ahead of the U.S. in launching a spot Solana ETF. U.S. companies such as Grayscale and Fidelity are still waiting for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve similar products. Currently, the only Solana ETFs in the U.S. track Solana futures, with Volatility Shares launching two such funds in March. However, these funds have had limited success, with the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and 2X Solana ETF (SOLT) attracting only a small amount of assets.
The launch of the Solana ETF in Canada comes amid growing interest in cryptocurrency ETFs. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have attracted billions of dollars in assets, with the Bitcoin ETF hitting new highs. Still, analysts including Katalin Tischhauser of crypto bank Sygnum remain cautious, noting that despite the excitement about altcoin ETFs, actual investor demand remains uncertain.
With these new ETFs, Canadian investors will soon have more options for investing in Solana. Solana has attracted much attention for its status as one of the top altcoins on the market. However, how these Solana ETFs perform compared to Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs will be closely watched.
