Franklin Templeton joins race for Solana spot ETF

Franklin Templeton has added to the list of companies eyeing approval for a Solana spot exchange-traded fund.

On Feb. 11, the $1.5 trillion asset manager filed registration documents for a Franklin Solana Trust in Delaware, joining other firms looking to bring Solana (SOL) spot ETFs to the U.S. market. The registration sees Franklin Templeton officially enter the quickly heating up space that’s altcoin ETF applications.

Franklin’s filing in Delaware hints at a spot ETF filing, with this being a process that other issuers have followed before. Should this happen, Franklin will join Canary, Grayscale, 21Shares, VanEck and Bitwise in the race to bring SOL ETFs to the market. 

Notably, that Franklin has filed documents for Solana Trust is no surprise. The asset manager expressed a a bullish outlook for SOL as early as July 2024.

The company said at the time that Solana is among “other exciting” crypto projects that could drive adoption alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. One factor signaling maturity for Solana is the network’s surmounting of earlier technological growth pains.

Having approved spot ETFs for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has signalled a potential addition of more products with the acknowledgement of forms 19b-4 for Litecoin and Solana ETF applications. 

The SEC recently confirmed Grayscale and Canary’s applications for listing of exchange-traded funds on the two altcoins.

Indeed, Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas point to a 90% chance that the regulator will give a nod to a Litecoin ETF.

LTC price has surged amid the anticipation.