Registration of Solana Trust by Franklin Templeton in Delaware

Asset manager Franklin Templeton has registered a trust in Delaware linked to a proposed Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF), indicating its potential launch in the US. According to a filing with Delaware’s corporate regulator, the “Franklin Solana Trust” was established on February 10 by the CSC Delaware Trust Company, which has previously registered crypto trust products for other asset managers like Bitwise. To compete with Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital for a Solana (SOL) ETF, Franklin will need to submit a Form 19b-4 and a Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the proposed ETF. Some asset managers who registered crypto trust products in Delaware submitted a Form S-1 for their products to the SEC the following day. If approved, the Franklin Solana Trust aims to track the price movement of the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $97 billion according to CoinGecko. The filing did not mention which exchange would list the ETF, but Franklin’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs are both listed on the Cboe BZX exchange. Franklin has previously expressed admiration for the Solana network and ecosystem, praising its ability to overcome technological challenges and highlighting its high transaction throughput. Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas stated on February 10 that the chances of an approved spot Solana ETF before the end of 2025 were 70%, with the odds increasing significantly after President Donald Trump’s election win in November. However, Seyffart noted last month that the SEC would need to resolve the status of Solana as a security before analyzing it under a “commodities ETF wrapper.” On February 11, the SEC acknowledged the Form 19b-4 filings for spot Solana ETFs submitted by 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, and VanEck. It also acknowledged Grayscale’s Solana filing on February 6, which was considered significant as the SEC reportedly rejected several applications in December under former Chair Gary Gensler. JPMorgan estimated that an approved spot Solana ETF could attract between $3 billion and $6 billion in net assets in its first year, a prediction deemed reasonable by Balchunas. Currently, Solana is trading at $198.5, a 1.5% decrease over the past 24 hours according to CoinGecko data.