The world's first "Solana Spot ETF" has been approved for listing, and staking rewards are now open!

In April 2025, the global Crypto Assets financial market celebrated a milestone breakthrough—the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) officially approved four Financial Institutions to issue the world's first Solana Spot ETF, allowing it to simultaneously incorporate the Blockchain staking rewards mechanism. This regulatory breakthrough not only marks Solana's official entry into the traditional financial compliance investment system as one of the top three blockchain projects by market capitalization, but also creates a new paradigm of innovative financial products with "spot holdings + staking interest", setting a new benchmark for the deep integration of crypto assets and traditional asset management. Prior to this, the global Crypto Assets ETF market has long been dominated by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). This time, Canadian regulators have directly released and approved the issuance of Solana Spot ETF by four major asset management companies: Purpose Investments, Evolve ETFs, CI Global Asset Management, and 3iQ, becoming the world's first compliant channel that allows retail and institutional investors to directly invest in Solana Spot through traditional financial instruments. The first batch of products is scheduled to officially launch on the Toronto Stock Exchange on April 16. According to the disclosed regulatory documents, the approved ETF will directly hold Solana native tokens (SOL), rather than being based on futures contracts or derivatives, achieving real-time price tracking of the underlying asset. This means that investors can gain spot exposure to Solana through traditional securities accounts without needing to directly manage private keys or go through a Crypto Assets exchange. At the same time, an important feature of this Solana Spot ETF is its staking function. The fund manager will participate in the Solana network's Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism on behalf of investors, obtaining network rewards by staking the SOL tokens held. According to Solana's current annual staking yield of approximately 7%-10% (higher than Ethereum's 4%-5%), the ETF will regularly allocate staking rewards to holders. This mechanism can not only effectively offset about 0.5%-1% of management fees but also create additional returns for investors beyond mere price fluctuations. There is no doubt that staking through the mechanism of ETFs remains novel, and this attempt in Canada may encourage more financial institutions to explore similar models. The approval from regulators indicates a growing market interest in combining decentralized finance (DeFi) characteristics with traditional financial products. It is worth mentioning that Canada's leading position in the crypto assets ETF field is not accidental. In February 2021, the country was the first to launch the world's first Bitcoin Spot ETF (Purpose Bitcoin ETF), 11 months earlier than the approval of similar products by the US SEC; in October 2022, it became the first major market to approve an Ethereum Spot ETF. The approval of the Solana product marks that Canada has built a complete crypto assets ETF product line covering "Bitcoin (store of value) - Ethereum (smart contracts) - Solana (high-performance public chain)", forming a comprehensive layout for the three major tracks of blockchain technology. In contrast, the United States has yet to approve any spot altcoin ETF other than Ethereum (ETH). The only Solana ETF available for U.S. investors is a futures-based product; however, these products have failed to generate meaningful appeal. As of April 2025, the total assets under management (AUM) of the only two Solana futures ETFs in the U.S. market is less than $200 million, and due to the high premiums on futures contracts and high management fees, the annualized tracking error exceeds 15%. More critically, the U.S. SEC's regulatory classification of "altcoins" remains unclear, with ongoing disputes regarding whether projects like Solana and XRP are classified as "commodities," "securities," or "undefined assets," leading to a stalemate in the approval of spot ETFs. Experts point out that if Canada's Solana ETF surpasses 1 billion Canadian dollars in AUM in its first month, it will create direct pressure on the US SEC, forcing it to reassess its regulatory stance on spot altcoin ETFs. Especially during the Trump administration, multiple applications for altcoin ETFs have been submitted but have not yet been approved. In addition, influenced by Canada, countries like the UK and Singapore, which hold an open attitude towards crypto assets, may accelerate the approval process, while the pressure from public opinion faced by the US SEC will also increase sharply. In the next two years, we may welcome a peak period of intensive approvals for global spot ETFs. Overall, the approval of the world's first Solana Spot ETF not only provides investors with new investment options but also marks further maturation of the Crypto Assets market. The introduction of stake rewards makes this product more attractive and may encourage more investors to participate. As Canada’s leading position in this field becomes apparent, regulators in other countries will face pressure to reconsider their policies to adapt to the rapidly evolving crypto market. In this transformative era, only by embracing innovation and effectively managing risks can one remain invincible in the tide of financial revolution.