Franklin Templeton is exploring the potential of additional assets to power new cryptocurrency ETFs, such as Solana.
In an X post on July 23, Franklin Templeton stated, “In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum, there are other significant and exciting developments that we anticipate will propel the crypto space forward.” The post included the following:
“Solana has shown major adoption and continues to mature, overcoming technological growing pains and highlighting the potential of high-throughput, monolithic architectures.”
Franklin Templeton’s spot Ethereum ETF launches on CBOE
On the same day that Franklin Templeton launched its second-ranked cryptocurrency ETF, the Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), the company provided a statement regarding prospective Solana ETFs.
Priced at 0.19%, or 19 basis points, the new Ethereum ETF is available on the BZX exchange of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Franklin Templeton elected to waive fees to 0% until January 31, 2025, for the initial $10 billion in fund assets.
Franklin Templeton and nine other Bitcoin ETF issuers, including Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity, launched its spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, approximately six months before the launch of EZET.
“We are delighted to announce the addition of EZET to our expanding portfolio of digital asset ETFs, following the success of our spot Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) launch in January,” stated Patrick O’Connor, Franklin Templeton’s head of global ETFs.
When will Solana ETF be available?
The VanEck Solana Trust, a Solana ETF that VanEck filed for in June 2024, has garnered significant investor interest. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has received applications for Solana ETFs from significant competitors, including 21Shares.
Industry analysts anticipate that the US SEC will render its final judgments regarding the initial Solana ETF applications in the middle of March 2025.
A few days ago, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas predicted that Ether ETFs would catalyze the development of additional crypto ETFs, such as spot ETFs based in Solana. He said the following:
“Keep in mind after launch, there are flows, and then add ETH products, I’m sure, then Solana, and then… It’s probably never going to end. The dam has broken.”