Brazilian SEC greenlights first Solana ETF; launch hinges on stock exchange approval

Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the country’s first Solana exchange-traded fund.

According to Brazilian news agency Exame, the approved Solana (SOL) ETF will be created by asset managers QR Asset and managed by Vortx. Additionally, CF Benchmark’s Solana Dollar Reference Rate Index will serve as the Solana ETF’s benchmark.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s SEC greenlights Solana-based ETF! 🌟 Managed by QR Assets & Vortx, this ETF is the first of its kind. 🏦 Scheduled to launch in 90 days, B3 still needs approval. 🚀

The crypto community is excited! 🎉 #SolanaETF #CryptoAdoption pic.twitter.com/CnO0IdkgsE

— Ubeyd Chand (@iamubaidchand) August 8, 2024

However, the report notes that since the Solana ETF is still in the pre-operational stages, the product’s launch is subject to approval by the Brazilian stock exchange B3.

While the regulator has not yet announced when the Solana ETF will be available to Brazilian investors, QR Asset said it is proud to be a global pioneer for a Solana-based exchange-traded product.

We are proud to be a global pioneer in this segment and to consolidate Brazil’s position as a leading market for regulated investments in crypto assets.

Theodoro Fleury, investment director at QR Asset

Brazil has a relatively long history with crypto ETFs, having approved Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) investment funds in the past. QR Asset launched a decentralized finance ETF under the ticker QF111 in February 2022.

The product was benchmarked on the Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index, which tracks some of the largest and most active DeFi platforms such as MakerDAO (MKR), Aave (AAVE), and Uniswap (UNI).

Brazil also offers BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF; the South American version is called the iShares Bitcoin Trust BDR ETF.

In the US, asset managers such as VanEck and 21Shares have filed applications for spot Solana ETFs with the US Securities and Exchange Commission but the regulator has yet to respond.

Surprisingly, Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for ETF and index investments, hinted that the investment giant will not be offering a Solana-based ETF in the near future.

He cited Solana’s lack of CME futures and lack of institutional support as reasons for BlackRock’s decision to pull the product from the market at this time.