The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged an application for a Solana-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), officially starting the countdown for approval or rejection. The regulator now has until October 2025 to make a final decision.
Since the debut of the Trump administration, the SEC has undergone significant restructuring. Rather than confronting new crypto services with lawsuits, the agency is now expected to adopt a more open stance toward innovation. As a result, dozens of applications for altcoin funds have landed on the SEC's desk. Among the most anticipated are ETFs for cryptocurrencies Solana and XRP. Until recently, however, the SEC did not acknowledge any of these applications. Only six weeks ago, the SEC, led by Democrat-appointed Gary Gensler, instructed issuing exchanges to withdraw their Solana ETF applications. This recent acknowledgment triggers the timeline for a definitive decision, which is likely to be favorable.
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Solana: security or commodity?
The central issue between the old and new SEC leadership is the classification of cryptocurrencies. Under Gary Gensler, the SEC classified most cryptocurrencies as securities, subjecting them to stricter regulatory oversight. However, there were no clear guidelines for registering crypto projects as securities. Under the Trump administration, by contrast, cryptocurrencies are classified as commodities—similar to how they are treated in most other countries. This shifts oversight responsibility to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Because issuers submitted Solana ETF applications as commodity funds, approval was nearly impossible during the Gensler era. In lawsuits against U.S.-based crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken, the SEC specifically named Solana as a security. However, thanks to the recent classification change, Solana ETFs are now back in play, as confirmed by the SEC's acknowledgment of the application.
Final deadline for Solana ETF: October 2025
Following the acknowledgment of Grayscale's "19b-4" application for a Solana ETF, the SEC will now follow a five-step process to either approve or reject it. First, the SEC has 15 days to publish the proposed rule change in the Federal Register. This initiates a public comment period, typically lasting 21 days. Afterward, the SEC has up to 45 days to conduct an initial review, during which it can approve, deny, or extend the review period.
If no decision is made within this timeframe, the ETF is automatically approved. The SEC can request two additional extensions, granting them an extra 45 and then 90 days. After this maximum timeline of 240 days, the SEC must issue a final decision. This places the ultimate deadline for the Solana ETF decision in the second week of October 2025. However, it is likely that the SEC will approve the fund sooner than that.
