The BZX Exchange has put forth an application on behalf of financial manager Franklin Templeton to introduce a Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
As noted in the filing dated March 12, Franklin Templeton’s intended ETF will contain spot SOL and has encouraged the Securities and Exchange Commission to permit the fund to stake its underlying crypto for extra rewards.
“Failing to stake the Fund’s SOL would be akin to forgoing the Fund’s entitlement to free additional SOL, similar to an equity ETP that declines to accept dividends from its held companies,” the document stated.
On February 10, Franklin Templeton established a Solana trust, joining other major players such as Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital, who have also sought to list Solana-related investment options.
Solana was recognized as one of the cryptocurrencies US President Donald Trump initially wanted to include in the US crypto reserves before retracting to only incorporate tokens obtained through enforcement actions.
The Solana ETF application filed for Franklin Templeton. Source: BZX
Related: Franklin Templeton launches US government money fund on Solana
Crypto ETF Decisions Postponed
The resignation of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler in January 2025 triggered a wave of crypto ETF applications, including several focused on Solana by asset managers anticipating a more lenient regulatory environment.
However, on March 11, the SEC declared it had postponed decisions regarding numerous altcoin ETFs, including those for Solana, Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and XRP (XRP).
The financial authority stated that it required additional time to assess the proposed rule changes for approval.
According to Bloomberg ETF expert James Seyffart, this extended review process is typical, and he commented that it doesn’t diminish the strong chance of approval for the ETF applications.
The analyst noted that the deadline for final approval for these altcoin ETFs is not until October 2025.
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson believes the Trump administration will remain committed to the president’s pro-crypto initiatives and merge conventional financial systems with the cryptocurrency space.
“I believe it’s likely that ETFs and mutual funds will ultimately be utilized on the blockchain due to its remarkable efficiency,” Johnson shared in a January 21 interview.
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