From theblock by Jason Shubnell

Could we see a Solana  SOL -1.23%

exchange-traded fund hit the U.S. market by the end of 2025? The signs are starting to become a bit more clear.

Equity exchange Cboe BZX on Thursday filed four applications for spot Solana ETFs, with proposals from VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise Asset Management and Canary Capital. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly "engaging" on S-1 applications. The final deadline — if the SEC acknowledges it — will be around early August, according to Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart.

The regulatory winds have shifted since Election Day, with President-elect Donald Trump and the most pro-crypto Congress ever assembled set to take office. The resignation of industry foil Gary Gensler has sparked even more optimism for crypto advocates.

“I believe it’s highly likely that Solana ETFs will be approved by the end of next year at the latest," ETF Store President Nate Geraci told The Block. "It appears the SEC is now engaging with issuers on this product, which is obviously a positive sign."

With industry leaders such as Bitwise having already filed, Two Prime Digital Assets CEO Alexander Blume concurs with that outlook.

"They wouldn’t waste the time and expense to do this if they didn’t have a good sense that they will succeed," Blume told The Block. He said the success and precedent set by the spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum ETFs, coupled with a more crypto-friendly administration and regulatory environment will lead to a SOL ETF within the next calendar year.

"The ability for both institutions and retail investors to access crypto via ETFs through regulated, traditional financial channels at banks and exchanges opens up pools of capital that have not previously existed," Blume said. "This is like trading a pool hose out for a fire hose and means that potential momentum and speculative trading can have even greater effects."

This past week, spot Bitcoin ETFs reached over $30 billion in cumulative total net inflow for the first time since launching in January. Total flows across the entire ETF ecosystem recently crossed the $913 billion mark, breaking the previous record set in 2021.

"It was Gary Gensler's SEC that broke with long-standing tradition with the rules-guided process and regulated through enforcement," Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research, told Financial Times on Nov. 15 "Going back to usual disclosure-based system would create scope for more innovation in this space... I think the odds are overwhelmingly high that there will be a Solana ETF trading by the end of next year."

Gensler announced Thursday he would be stepping down from his post as SEC Chair on Jan. 20, 2025, the same day Trump will be inaugurated. The news was yet another boost for crypto markets, as the price of bitcoin continued to hit new all-time highs on its way to the $100,000 milestone.

Meanwhile, the price of SOL, the native token of the Solana blockchain, earlier this week broke through its previous all-time high of $259.96 set in late 2021.

"The launch of Solana ETFs will be a massive milestone for the SOL ecosystem + also signals a major shift for the entire crypto industry," Austin Reid, global head of revenue at crypto prime brokerage FalconX said in a post on X. "Beyond new single-asset funds, regulatory clarity will pave the way for actively managed products + new basket ETFs - both of which will unlock new channels of institutional liquidity."

The price of Solana trades at around $257.40 at publication time, according to The Block's SOL price page. The token is up more than 50% over the past month and up 147% in the year-to-date period.