The inaugural U.S. spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Solana , Hedera (HBAR), and commenced trading on Tuesday, creating new opportunities for investors looking for regulated crypto asset exposure beyond bitcoin and ether.
If the initial enthusiasm persists, Solana’s ETF could potentially attract over $3 billion within the first 12 to 18 months, as suggested by Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart.
“A useful point of comparison is to evaluate Solana’s standing relative to bitcoin and Ethereum,” Seyffart mentioned. “Solana’s market cap sits at 5% in relation to bitcoin and 22% compared to Ethereum. If the flows for Solana mirror those we’ve observed for ETH and BTC ETFs, we’re looking at $3+ billion in investment over the initial 12 to 18 months. However, time will tell if that potential is realized.”
Bitwise’s Solana ETF (BSOL) launched on the New York Stock Exchange, recording $10 million in volume within its first 30 minutes, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Balchunas. On Nasdaq, the Hedera ETF (HBR) and the Litecoin ETF (LTCC) reported volumes of $4 million and $400,000, respectively.
Balchunas anticipates that BSOL will reach $52 million in volume by the end of the trading day, while HBR and LTCC are expected to see volumes of $8 million and $7 million, respectively.
The funds were launched under the Securities Act of 1933, a regulatory framework commonly utilized for commodity-backed ETFs. In contrast to funds governed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, ’33 Act products do not necessitate a board of directors or daily portfolio disclosure, making them ideal for single-asset crypto ETFs.
CoinDesk Indices is responsible for providing the pricing benchmarks for both HBR and LTCC.
For context, the spot bitcoin ETFs attracted $628 million in flows on their inaugural day across various issuers, while spot ether ETFs garnered $106 million. Tuesday’s launch was marked by a single issuer for each asset, but Grayscale’s Solana Trust, which is set to be converted into an ETF, will begin trading on Wednesday.
Assessing the prospective demand for HBAR and LTC, Seyffart remarked: “HBAR’s market cap is roughly 8% the size of Solana’s, while Litecoin holds about 7% of Solana’s market cap. Thus, we can expect smaller figures for both. Again, only time will tell.”
