- Cboe has filed to list a Franklin Templeton Solana ETF
- The Franklin Templeton Solana ETF would aim to track the price of SOL
- Solana (SOL) briefly reached $129.60 after the filing, then fell to $123.71 amid a broader crypto sell-off
The Cboe BZX Exchange has submitted a Rule 19b-4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enable listing of a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Proposed by Franklin Templeton, the filing was submitted on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Franklin Templeton, a global investment firm managing over $1.5 trillion in assets, first filed a proposal for the ETF less than a week earlier, reflecting growing institutional interest in crypto-backed funds among traditional financial firms.
Proposed Franklin Templeton Solana ETF
The proposed Franklin Templeton Solana ETF is designed to track the spot price of SOL, the native cryptocurrency of the high-throughput Solana blockchain known for fast transactions and popularity among developers and meme-coin communities.
Franklin Templeton’s move into Solana follows competing applications from firms such as Grayscale Investments, Canary Capital, Bitwise, 21Shares, and VanEck, all vying to launch spot Solana ETFs. The SEC has opened public comment periods on several of these proposals, indicating an active but deliberate review process.
The push for Solana funds highlights a shift in attention beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have dominated the ETF landscape with assets of roughly $100 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively.
While the spot Ethereum ETF has not matched Bitcoin’s explosive flows, it has drawn significant inflows since its debut eight months ago and has set a precedent for altcoin-focused funds such as a Solana ETF.
Unlike direct crypto ownership, ETFs offer a familiar, regulated investment vehicle for both institutional and retail investors, potentially broadening mainstream adoption.
SEC has 240 days to review the filing
The Cboe filing starts a 240-day review window during which the SEC must determine whether to approve or disapprove the request.
This timeline places a potential decision toward the end of 2025, potentially coinciding with a broader wave of approvals for crypto ETFs.
The submission underscores rising interest in Solana despite the token trading near $124 at the time of filing—well below its all-time high and reflecting a two-month market downturn. This is not Franklin Templeton’s first foray into digital assets.
The firm began experimenting with digital asset use cases in 2019 by tokenizing shares of a money market fund on the Stellar blockchain and later launched a digital asset venture fund in 2021.
Franklin Templeton already operates Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, demonstrating growing capability in the space. A Solana ETF would further diversify its product lineup and meet demand from investors seeking regulated exposure to altcoins.
Solana price reaction
Following the Cboe filing, Solana briefly rose to an intraday high of $129.60 before falling back to $123.71 at the time of writing, marking a roughly 39% decline over the past month.
Solana’s price remains well below its January peak, affected by a broader crypto market pullback and waning speculation around meme coins built on its blockchain.
Nevertheless, the Solana ETF filing signals continued confidence in Solana’s long-term potential, particularly as a scalable platform for decentralized applications.
If approved, a Solana ETF could attract new capital and add stability to the Solana ecosystem, similar to the transformative impact Bitcoin ETFs have had on the market.