rewrite this title 7 upcoming spot Solana ETFs (and their fees/promotions) – NerdWallet

What is a spot Solana ETF?

A spot Solana ETF would be an exchange-traded fund that invests directly in Solana (SOL), the sixth-largest cryptocurrency in the world by market capitalization.

Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs and spot Ethereum ETFs. Solana is due to become the third cryptocurrency tracked by ETFs, once the SEC reopens after the government shutdown and provides final approval for ETF launches.

Although it’s not the most valuable cryptocurrency, Solana has a number of features that have put it on investors’ radars.

The cryptocurrency uses a proof-of-stake system to validate transactions, which is a more energy-efficient alternative to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work-based mining system. Staking allows Solana holders to generate passive income with their holdings; staking rewards are a bit like the crypto equivalent of dividends or interest payments. Some proposed Solana ETFs may pay a staking yield to investors, or automatically reinvest their staking income, to boost returns.

Also, the Solana blockchain hosts other cryptocurrency projects in addition to its native Solana token. Many meme coins, including the controversial TRUMP Coin launched by President Donald Trump earlier this year, run on the Solana blockchain.

The 7 proposed spot Solana ETFs and their fees

At the time of writing, seven ETF issuers have filed registration statements with the SEC for a spot Solana ETF. Four of them have disclosed a proposed fee for their ETFs. They’re listed below in order from lowest to highest fee.

Source: SEC EDGAR system. Data is current as of Oct. 20, 2025, and is intended for informational purposes only.

When will the Solana ETFs be approved?

One proposed Solana ETF, the 21Shares Solana ETF, has already received provisional approval from the SEC. But it’s still waiting on a final review by the regulator before it can start trading, and that final review can only happen once the government shutdown ends and the SEC resumes operations. Other proposed Solana ETFs are further behind in this process, and will need multiple approvals before they start trading post-shutdown.

When will the shutdown end? No one knows for sure. At the time of writing, the shutdown is entering its third week, and the Senate has voted nearly a dozen times on resolutions to end it, without success. It is currently the third-longest shutdown in U.S. history; the longest, which lasted from late 2018 to early 2019, spanned 34 days.

It’s worth noting that once the SEC starts allowing Solana ETFs to launch, their fees may change rapidly. In the days leading up to the approvals of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs last year, issuers engaged in a last-minute race to the bottom in terms of fees. Many filed amended SEC documents slashing their fees and announcing new fee-waiver promos to try to undercut their competitors, who often responded by filing their own fee-slashing amendments hours later.

History could repeat itself with the upcoming Solana ETF launches. So if you’re reading this article after the government has reopened and Solana ETFs have hit the market, it’s worth double-checking the fees of a specific ETF on the issuer’s website. We will do our best to keep the table above updated, but we’re human — there’s a chance the numbers could be outdated by the time you read them given how quickly amendments can be made.

Other ways to invest in Solana

If you’re looking to invest in Solana, and you don’t want to wait for the government to reopen and approve the launch of these spot ETFs, there are a few other ways to get exposure to the cryptocurrency.

There are already a few Solana-related ETFs on the market. These are ETFs that indirectly track the returns of Solana (or some multiple of them) by investing in Solana futures contracts. For example, the VolatilityShares Solana ETF (SOLZ) tries to track Solana’s daily returns, while the ProShares Ultra Solana ETF (SLON) tries to deliver twice Solana’s daily returns.

However, these types of ETFs often charge higher fees than the proposed spot ETFs (1.15% for SOLZ and 2.14% for SLON), and their returns may diverge significantly from those of Solana itself due to their indirect investing methods.

If you know how to trade futures, buying Solana futures is another way to get Solana exposure. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched Solana futures trading back in March, and the contracts are now available through many futures brokers.

But futures trading isn’t for everyone — it can be risky, and can have a steep learning curve.

The other way to invest in Solana is by purchasing the cryptocurrency itself. The price of the Solana token is volatile; in 2025 it has seen highs above $250 and lows near $100, which gives short-term traders the opportunity to make (or lose) a lot of money on its swings.

Investing in Solana itself may have some advantages over buying a Solana ETF — for example, no expense ratio and more control over staking. (Even the ETFs that have staking features will have discretion over how much of their Solana they stake, how long they stake it, and what they do with the rewards. If you own the cryptocurrency outright, these decisions are up to you.)

The bottom line on Solana ETFs

The launch of Solana ETFs could create a new way to invest in one of the biggest and most dynamic altcoins. Many retirement accounts do not allow users to directly purchase cryptocurrencies like Solana, but a spot Solana ETF could solve this problem.

Now, will the launch of Solana ETFs boost the price of Solana itself? That’s harder to say, based on crypto ETF history. To look at another example: The first spot Ethereum ETFs started trading in July 2024. The price of Ether is about 20% higher today than it was at the time, but it has experienced significant volatility between then and now. Ether prices actually slid significantly in the months after the ETFs launched, and at certain points in 2025, the cryptocurrency was down more than 50% from its price at ETF launch time.

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