- As the world awaits the next crypto spot ETF after Bitcoin made the leap in January, some believe that it could be Solana that makes the big move next.
- Some of the world’s leading asset managers, from VanEck to Franklin Templeton, have been pushing Solana; the former predicts that the SOL will join the ETF race this year.
It has been the year of the crypto spot ETFs. Bitcoin was the first to get the nod earlier this year, and since then, all the chatter has been on which crypto is next on the ETF bandwagon. While Ethereum is the natural next candidate, some believe Solana has as strong a case, and it could join the ETF race this year.
According to Farside data, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has brought in $9.69 billion since its debut. Second-placed Fidelity has seen just over $6 billion, as the two Wall Street giants lead the market. Bitwise and Ark/21Shares ETFs have also hit over $1 billion. Collectively, the ETFs have attracted over $19.5 billion.
[4/4] Final summary chart shows that almost $20 billion has gone into the ETFs, excluding GTBC pic.twitter.com/7M8OhSDJ2I
— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) March 8, 2024
The ETFs have been a game-changer for Bitcoin. Since their debut, the top crypto has shot up from around $45,000 to hit a new all-time high above $69,000, as Crypto News Flash reported.
This makes an ETF a landmark event for any crypto, and according to analysts, Solana has as good a case as any other crypto.
One key push for any crypto is institutional support, and Solana has plenty. Franklin Templeton, an asset manager with over $1.5 trillion in assets under management, has thrown its weight behind the crypto, praising its network and the team behind it, led by founder Anatoly Yakovenko.
As Crypto News Flash reported, the California-based asset manager praised Yakovenko earlier this year, stating:
On Solana, we see Anatoly’s vision of a single atomic state machine as a powerful use case of decentralized blockchains, lowering information asymmetry. And we are impressed by all the activity seen on Solana in Q4 2023.
When Solana ETF?
A lot goes into an ETF consideration, as was evidenced by Bitcoin, which took over five years before finally getting its spot ETF, and even then, it only came after Grayscale sued the SEC.
However, Solana ticks a lot of the boxes that the SEC considers. The first is whether there’s sufficient demand for an asset to justify an ETF. Solana easily clears this hurdle—in the past day, it processed over $5.4 billion in trading volume. This was the sixth highest in the industry, and three of those ahead of SOL were stablecoins.
Solana now has a market cap of $65.2 billion. This would make it the 281st most valuable company, worth more than the London Stock Exchange, PayPal and Nintendo. As such, it easily meets that criterion.
On whether it deserves the spot over other cryptocurrencies, Solana is head and shoulders above most cryptos. It has the fifth-highest market cap and one of the most vibrant ecosystems. Data by CryptoSlam shows that it has the third-highest NFT trading volume after Ethereum and Bitcoin. Its DeFi market’s total value locked is also in the top five.
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