Solana ETF application has made significant progress and is expected to be approved this year.

Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has shown a positive shift in attitude towards the Solana ETF, which may accelerate its approval process.

According to sources, the SEC recently requested several asset management companies to submit updated Solana ETF registration documents within a week. The SEC specifically emphasized the need to modify the terms regarding "physical redemption" and "staking mechanisms," suggesting that it may allow the Solana ETF to include staking yield features. Market analysts believe this indicates a more positive stance from the regulators. Industry insiders expect that these updates could lead to the Solana ETF being approved within three to five weeks.

After the news broke, the price of SOL rose by 5% in a short period, briefly breaking through $165, before falling back to around $163.6.

The core amendments proposed by the SEC mainly involve two aspects: the specific wording of physical redemptions and how the issuer handles staking issues. For investors, these changes mean:

1. Physical redemption: ETF share holders can choose to receive equivalent SOL tokens directly upon redemption instead of cash. This mechanism typically offers advantages in terms of tax efficiency and operational flexibility.

2. Staking: If the SEC allows the inclusion of a staking mechanism, investors purchasing ETF shares can not only benefit from the price appreciation but also indirectly enjoy staking rewards, significantly increasing the attractiveness of the SOL ETF.

The lineup of institutions applying for this product is strong, including major participants in Bitcoin ETFs such as Fidelity, VanEck, and Grayscale. Notably, Grayscale plans to convert its existing SOL trust product into a spot ETF. Market observers point out that the CME Exchange launched Solana futures in February this year, and this "preparatory action" is highly similar to the process before the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Industry insiders expect that after the S-1 filing update is completed, the Solana ETF is likely to receive final approval within the next three to five weeks. Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst James Seyffart is optimistic about this, forecasting that the approval could happen this year, possibly as early as July. Although the SEC's final deadline for the 19b-4 filings (application for changes to listing rules) for these products is in October, Seyffart believes that the SEC may prioritize the applications related to the Solana and staking ETFs.

In April of this year, Bloomberg industry research analyst Eric Balchunas raised the likelihood of the SOL ETF being approved from 70% to 90%. He recently stated: "Get ready for a potential cryptocurrency ETF summer, as Solana may lead the way."

From a technical perspective, crypto analyst Grayhoood observed that SOL technical indicators such as RSI, stochastic oscillator, and commodity channel index are all sending positive signals, especially after SOL broke through the resistance level of $154, indicating that buying power is strengthening and there is still room for price increase.

In the long term, the 30-day and annual moving averages (which have decreased by 5.3% and 2.9% respectively) indicate that the recent gains have not fully reversed the previous bearish structure. If it can continue to break through, the resistance levels above are around $181/$187/$194.