Are You Sure Solana's ETF Is Approved By The SEC? Here's JPMorgan's View!

The news of investment product approval related to Solana and XRP exchange-traded funds (ETF) is increasingly being discussed after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved ETF Ethereum Spot on May 23.

This decision sparked optimism in the crypto market, especially regarding the presence of spot ETFs for other cryptocurrencies such as XRP and Solana (SOL). However, these hopes seem to be eased. Global banking giant, JPMorgan, doubts the SEC's green light for crypto spot ETFs outside Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The JPMorgan's doubts were conveyed by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Managing Director and their Strategic Global Market. "We doubt," said Panigirtzoglou, quoted from CoinTelegraph.

"The SEC's decision to approve ETF ETH is surprising enough given the ambiguity of Ethereum's classification of securities or not."

Panigirtzoglou views ETF ETH's approval by the SEC as a "forced" decision. The reason is that the SEC has so far had a stronger view of classifying tokens other than Bitcoin and Ethereum as securities. This, according to him, will further complicate the acceptance of ETF spots for other cryptocurrencies such as Solana.

Furthermore, Panigirtzoglou emphasized the importance of clear regulations from the United States government. "Without legislation defining most cryptocurrencies as non-securities, it is unlikely that the SEC will approve other crypto spot ETFs," he said.

JPMorgan's skeptical views are in line with the controversy that accompanies the SEC's decision regarding ETF ETH. Some analysts suspect the approval is influenced by political factors. This is reinforced by the disclosure of court documents showing the SEC's formal investigation of Ethereum as a potential securities last year.

SEC's Attitude Towards The Crypto Industry

Previously, the SEC's approval of ETF ETH was fairly unexpected. In fact, Panigirtzoglou himself only predicted the 50% chance before finally eight 19b-4 forms for ETF ETH were approved. This indicates that crypto industry players, including ETF issuers of ETH spot, are not entirely sure about the green light from regulators.

The SEC's ambiguous attitude regarding crypto classification as a security complicates crypto regulation in the US. SEC chairman Gary Gensler has consistently declared the majority of crypto tokens, except Bitcoin, as securities. However, he did not explicitly declare Ethereum as non-securities.

The decision on ETH ETF, although surprising, could be the SEC's first step to open the door to other crypto spot ETFs. However, JPMorgan's skeptical views are supported by investigations into Ethereum and SEC caution so far. Investors hoping for an ETF spot for XRP, Solana, or other cryptocurrencies appear to have to be patient longer while waiting for regulatory clarity in the United States.