Crypto investor and CNBC ‘Fast Money’ trader Brian Kelly has stirred up a debate by suggesting that Solana (SOL) could be the next cryptocurrency to have a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. Kelly made this prediction on the CNBC talk show ‘Fast Money’ on May 22, just a day before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was set to decide on a proposed spot Ether (ETH) ETF.
Kelly, who is also the founder and CEO of the BKCM Digital Asset Fund, asked, “The trade now is, who’s next?” However, not everyone agrees with Kelly’s prediction. Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, believes that a spot Solana ETF won’t exist until a Chicago Mercantile Exchange-traded Solana futures product is listed or until Congress establishes a legitimate cryptocurrency regulatory framework.
So far, only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures have been approved in the U.S. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart shares Geraci’s view, stating that it would take a few years for a spot Solana ETF to be developed after getting a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated market. Seyffart believes that a spot Solana ETF would have more demand than any other digital asset, excluding Bitcoin and Ether. However, Seyffart also mentions that Gary Gensler and the SEC have identified Solana as a security in previous lawsuits against Coinbase and Kraken, which could complicate matters for potential future applicants.
Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran has a different view, suggesting that either Litecoin (LTC) or Dogecoin (DOGE) will be the next coins to be included in a spot ETF. Cochran believes that these coins have “much lower demand, but cleaner paths” for ETF inclusion. Both Litecoin and Dogecoin use a proof-of-work consensus mechanism like Bitcoin.
While few ETF issuers have expressed interest in filing for a spot Solana ETF, trillion-dollar asset management firm Franklin Templeton has recently praised Solana and its founder, Anatoly Yakovenko. This has sparked speculation about whether the firm would consider filing a spot Solana ETF application in the future. Additionally, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, has predicted that Solana will be the “crypto asset of 2024” and has explored real-world use cases on the network that institutions could take advantage of.
In related news, Trezor CEO has warned that Bitcoin ETFs could make Coinbase a target for hackers and governments.