Volatility Shares is set to introduce two futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) centered around Solana SOLUSD: the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT), on March 20. This announcement was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SOLZ will carry a management fee of 0.95% until June 30, 2026, after which the fee will rise to 1.15%. The 2X Solana ETF, offering investors double the leverage, will carry a 1.85% management fee. These filings mark the debut of Solana-based ETFs in the United States, following the recent launch of SOL futures contracts by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group.
With a leadership reshuffle at the SEC and Donald Trump’s reelection as US president, there has been a surge of ETF applications submitted to the SEC for approval by asset managers and ETF firms.
SOL futures were launched on March 17 with an approximate trading volume of $12.1 million on the first day. For comparison, Bitcoin (BTC) futures saw over $102 million in volume on their first trading day, while Ether (ETH) futures secured over $30 million on their launch day.
Despite the comparatively low volume, SOL futures contracts could potentially stimulate demand for the cryptocurrency from institutional investors and foster price discovery. The launch of SOL futures indicates the likelihood of SOL ETFs approval in the United States, as financial regulators warm to digital assets amid a policy shift.
Chris Chung, the founder of Titan — a Solana-based swap platform — believes the CME’s futures indicate SOL’s maturity as an asset capable of attracting institutional interest. Chung also claimed that the SOL futures and ETFs launch positions Solana as a blockchain network ready for real-world applications like payments, rather than simply a memecoin casino.
ETFs could further enable investor capital to flow into SOL, potentially sparking a sustained rally in the altcoin that rivals without an ETF might miss. The introduction of Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 is generally considered to have diverted institutional capital away from the broader crypto market, preventing capital rotation from BTC into altcoins and disrupting altseason.
