Canary Capital joins Solana ETF race amid rising investor demand

Canary Capital filed for a spot Solana ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Oct. 30, seeking to establish a US-based spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund.

The fund, titled the Canary Solana ETF, is designed to “provide exposure to the price of Solana (‘SOL’) held by the Trust,” according to the S-1 registration statement. Canary Capital did not specify a custodian or administrator in the filing.

According to the filing:

“Solanas DeFi ecosystem shows strong metrics, including high transaction volume, active addresses, and new address growth, alongside low transaction fees for users.”

Founded by Steven McClurg, who also established Valkyrie Funds, Canary Capital has been expanding its ETF applications. The firm recently submitted filings for spot ETFs based on Litecoin and XRP.

Canary‘s efforts align with increased investor demand for regulated, digital asset-backed funds and follow VanEck’s June filing for a spot Solana ETF.

At the time, VanEck‘s digital asset research head, Matthew Sigel, commented that Solana functionally resembles Bitcoin and Ethereum, suggesting it could be viewed as a commodity. This perspective contrasts with the SEC’s 2023 classification of Solana as a security in its regulatory actions against Binance.

Earlier in 2024, the SEC approved a wave of spot Bitcoin ETFs, followed by several Ethereum ETFs, spurring speculation over the potential approval of additional crypto-backed ETFs, including those based on Solana.

Canary Capitals latest move highlights a broader trend among investment firms positioning for regulatory approval in the expanding market for crypto ETFs as industry participants await further SEC decisions.