Solana is a high-throughput blockchain that is well-known for dapp development and launch of meme coins. Its scalability, speed, and low fees have recently attracted a lot of investors who want to delve into various Exchange Traded products of Solana without having to buy the SOL tokens themselves.

A lot has been happening around the world in the world of Solana as a financial instrument that has piqued the interest of investors. According to JP Morgan analysis (as reported in Yahoo Finance), Solana and XRP ETFs could together garner around $14 billion out of which $3-$6 billion could come solely from Solana. Bloomberg’s analysts have stated that there is a 70% probability that ETF approval will happen by late 2025.

Let us begin with what happened lately in the world of Solana.  

Solana Futures

On March 17, 2025, i.e. just 2 days before publishing this article, we saw the launch of CME Group’s Solana Futures. CME, as we know, is the world’s largest derivative exchange. This instrument is meant to provide a hedge against Solana’s price movements. The regular contract size of this instrument is 500 SOL while micro Sol Futures offers a diminished contract size of 25 SOL.

When CME Group launched Solana Futures, they opted for a cash-settled mechanism, which means that when the contract expires, investors would not get the real SOL tokens. In cash-settled futures, the settlement of profit or loss is in fiat (USD) instead of a crypto asset like SOL. Thus these investors would receive the difference in USD, which is based on the ‘CME CF Solana-Dollar Reference Rate’.

Let us understand what is meant by Reference Rate. The Solana-USD reference rate (SOLUSD-RR) is a rate that CF Benchmarks calculates; CF Benchmarks is a subsidiary company of Kraken and a provider of cryptocurrency index prices and benchmarks. These reference rates and indices are used by various financial products. The rate represents the USD prices of Solana, which are collected from the top cryptocurrency exchanges.

The calculation is not a straightforward price pickup but a Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) taken at 4:00 pm London time. For these time-weighted prices, a one-hour price slot is taken into consideration, i.e. between 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm London time. The prices are recorded every second during this time frame. Then these are weighted based on the trading volume happening on those time stamps. To calculate the final reference rate, the average price across all the exchanges during this period is taken into account. So, if you buy a CME Solana futures contract at, say, $150 /SOL and at the time of expiry, the CME CF Solana Dollar reference rate is standing at $170/SOL, you can book a profit of:

(170-150) * your contract size (which is either 500 or 25).

And you receive gains in USD rather than SOL tokens.

On the first day of CME Group’s Solana Futures trading, contracts worth 98250 SOL were traded. This represented an appreciable interest among investors in this trading product. The first trade, i.e. initial transaction of this new contract took place on March 16, 2025, in the form of a block. This means it was executed in the form of a large, private (off-exchange, which means that trade was not executed on exchange). FalconX and StoneX are the two firms that participated in this block transaction. The private trade was later reported to the exchange.

According to Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group. "The addition of SOL and Micro SOL futures to our regulated cryptocurrency suite will provide investors with the capital-efficient tools they need to support their growing cryptocurrency investment and hedging strategies."

Exchange Traded Products(ETPs)

An ETP is a financial instrument that can be traded and can track the performance of an underlying asset or index. Such a product can be bought and sold on crypto stock markets. An ETP provides exposure to cryptos, stocks, bonds, and commodities and there is no need of directly own these assets. The ETPs do that for you. There are several types of ETPs: ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), and Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs).

In the context of Soalna, each of these provides exposure to Solana’s price movements.

• ETFs: An investment fund that holds actual SOL tokens and trades on crypto exchanges. Investors buy ETF shares and the funds hold SOL on their behalf. Examples include several ETFs that have been proposed by the biggest investment funds: VanEck Solana Spot ETF, 21Shares Solana ETF, and Bitwise Solana Spot ETFs are a few examples.
• ETNs: It is a debt instrument that is issued by a financial institution and tracks the price of SOL. ETN need not mandatorily hold Solana but promises to pay investors based on the tokens’s performance. The risk level is higher than ETFs as if an issuer goes kaput, investors may face loss of money. Examples are Vaneck Solana ETN (VSOL), 21Sahres Solana Staking ETP (ASOL), and Coinshares Solana ETN. Investors buy ETN shares and the issuer promises returns based on Solana’s price.
• ETCs: It is similar to an ETF but is actually a commodity instrument, The products are backed fully by Solana and are traded on European exchanges. Each ETC share is backed by a specific amount of Solana stored in a custodial account. Investors have a direct claim on Solana holdings. An example is ETC Group Physical Solana.

Like Solana Futures, a lot is happening on Solana’s ETP horizon. Let's see the highlights:

VanEck

 An ETN (Exchange Traded Note) was launched by VanEck in 2021 and goes by the name VanEck Solana ETN. This ETN is backed 100% by actual SOL tokens: it holds the real SOL tokens in its custody. For every unit of the note issued, the ETN holds an equivalent amount of SOL. VanEck is also actively looking forward to the race of Solana-based ETFs. In 2024, it filed its application to list VanEck Solana Trust ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange (A security exchange in the US). This ETF would track the performance of Solana.

21Shares

It is a leading crypto investment firm that already offers 2 ETNs that provide exposure to Solana:

21Shares Solana Staking ETP (ASOL): It is fully backed by SOL tokens and tracks its performance. It also captures Solana yields, which are reinvested into the ETN.

21Shares Solana Core Staking ETP (CSOL): It also tracks Solana price along with providing staking yields. It is relatively more suitable for investors who are cost-savvy and prefer lower expense ratios.

Bitwise

Bitwise applied to list a Spot Solana ETP (It is an ETN). This was done by Cboe BZX exchange on behalf of Bitwise in June 2024, This ETP would also directly hold SOL.

Grayscale

Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) is a passively managed fund that reflects the value of Solana that this Trust holds. So, there is no need for investors to buy the tokens themselves. This is the traditional investment format appropriate for those who have risk-aversions of buying, holding, and selling cryptocurrencies. However, the inherent risk of GSOL trading above or below the actual SOL price is always there. There can also be liquidity concerns and other regulatory risks that are often associated with crypto assets. Recently, Grayscale did an SEC filing for converting its GSOL Trust into a spot Solana ETF. This has been acknowledged by the SEC.

Blackrock

The world’s biggest asset manager is also trying to be a part of the race for spot ETFs. It is suspected that it might also file its SOL ETF (along with XRP ETF) shortly. If true, this comes as a surprise after Blackrock’s CIO of index investments said in June 2024 that the firm would take time to launch Solana ETF.

Franklin Templeton

It was in the news last week when Cboe BZX Exchange submitted an ETF application on its behalf. This fund aims to hold physical SOL. It also requested the SEC to approve SOL staking so that investors' rewards could be reinvested to raise potential gains. On March 14, 2025, the SEC acknowledged this application, thus giving a green light to Solana spot’s future. Before getting official approval, however, it would have to go through a regulatory inspection from the SEC.

As you can see, Solana’s financial instruments are piquing the interest of investors on a big scale. The SEC has already softened its stance by giving green signals to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. In the time to come, these Solana trading products could attract the same attention from institutions and retail investors as these earlier ETFs got.

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