BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be ‘messed up’ — Analyst

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, should not be allowed to launch a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) simultaneously with the US-based issuers who have already filed for one, says ETF analyst James Seyffart.

“That’s messed up,” Seyffart told ETF analyst Nate Geraci in a video published to YouTube on Saturday, discussing a hypothetical scenario where BlackRock — despite no filing so far — jumps in at the last minute with a spot Solana (SOL) ETF and launches alongside firms that applied months ago.

The smaller firms put in all the hard work, Seyffart says

“That shouldn’t happen,” Seyffart said. “These smaller issuers, these guys have spent so much time working with the SEC getting the paperwork right,” he added.

VanEck was the first US firm to apply for a spot Solana ETF in June 2024. Other Solana ETF bidders include Bitwise, Grayscale, Invesco, 21Shares, CoinShares, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity Investments.

Since the initial filing, the SEC has issued several delays in its approval decision and requested amended application forms to gain greater legal clarity on the proposed products.

James Seyffart spoke to Nate Geraci on Crypto Prime on Saturday. Source: Crypto Prime

However, Seyffart is leaning toward the view that BlackRock will instead launch a crypto index product tracking the spot prices of several cryptocurrencies beyond the two largest, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

BlackRock may swoop in if demand is high

“That’s what I would do if I were BlackRock,” Seyffart said.

NovaDius president Nate Geraci said BlackRock may be waiting for its competitors to launch other crypto products first in order to gauge market demand. “If the demand looks like it’s going to be really good, perhaps they can just swoop in,” he said.

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Geraci also said that if BlackRock chooses not to file, they may be “making a market call that it is just going to be Bitcoin and ETH and nothing else.”

However, Seyffart says it’s not a major risk for BlackRock if they don’t file for another crypto ETF as approximately 90% of the crypto market cap is in Bitcoin and Ethereum. “Even if they don’t, I don’t think it is that big of a miss,” he said.

“It obviously is not going to be what it is and was for Bitcoin, and like I said, I’m pretty bullish on the demand I see for index products,” Seyffart said.

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