Brazilian SEC greenlights first Solana ETF; launch hinges on stock exchange approval

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the country’s first Solana exchange-traded fund.

According to Brazilian news outlet Exame, the approved Solana (SOL) ETF will be created by asset managers QR Asset and run by Vortx. Additionally, CF Benchmark’s Solana Dollar Reference Rate Index will serve as the Solana ETF’s point of reference.

However, the report also indicates that the launch of the product still depends on approval by the Brazilian stock exchange B3, with the Solana ETF still at a pre-operational stage.

While the regulator is yet to announce when exactly the Solana ETF will become available to the Brazilian investing public, QR Asset expressed pride in being a global pioneer for a Solana-based exchange-traded product.

We are proud to be global pioneers in this segment, consolidating Brazil’s position as a leading market for regulated investments in crypto assets.

Theodoro Fleury, QR Asset investment director

Brazil has a relatively long history with crypto ETFs, having approved investment funds in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in the past. QR Asset launched a decentralized finance ETF In February 2022, under the ticker QF111. 

The product was benchmarked on the Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index, which tracks some of the largest and most active DeFi platforms, including MakerDAO (MKR), Aave (AAVE), and Uniswap (UNI).

Furthermore, Brazil also offers BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, with the South American version going by the name iShares Bitcoin Trust BDR ETF. 

In the United States, asset managers such as VanEck and 21Shares have filed for spot Solana ETFs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, although the regulator is yet to respond. 

Surprisingly, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for ETF and index investments, Samara Cohen, recently intimated that the investment giant will not be offering a Solana-based ETF in the near future. 

She cited Solana’s lack of a CME futures and little institutional backing as the reasons for BlackRock’s decision to forgo the product at this time.