BlackRock Delays Solana ETF Launch, Focuses On Bitcoin And Ethereum

BlackRock postponed the launch of ETF Solana, focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum (Photo; Doc. Cryptorandgroup)

JAKARTA - BlackRock, one of the largest asset management companies in the world, has confirmed that they have no plans to launch Solana's Exchange-Trad Fund (ETF) (SOL) in the near future. Even though their Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have had great success, Solana is considered insufficient to be used as new investment products.

Quoted from Crypto Potato, Samara Cohen, CIO BlackRock, in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, it was stated that Solana's ETF launch was not yet included in the company's short-term plans. We really see the investability what meets the criteria, what is worthy of being used as an ETF, Cohen explained. According to him, in terms of client's investability and demand, Bitcoin and Ethereum clearly meet those standards. Cohen added, I think it will take a long time before we see other assets launched as ETF

So far, BlackRock's Bitcoin spot and Ethereum ETF has proven to be very successful. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has raised nearly 20 billion US Dollars (approximately IDR 325 trillion) since its launch on January 11, and recorded the best opening record in the first 30 days compared to any ETF in history. Meanwhile, BlackRock's Ethereum ETF controls 440 million US Dollars (approximately IDR 7.1 trillion) in ETH in just the first week of its launch.

Despite the potential, Solana's ETF launch is still questionable. At the 2024 Bitcoin conference, Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets BlackRock, noted that the next investable asset is only about 3% of the total crypto market cap. This shows that Solana is still far from the threshold of maturity, liquidity, and track record required.

In March, Mitchnick emphasized that Bitcoin remains a top priority among clients focused on crypto. "Then a little bit of Ethereum, and very little more," he said.

At the end of June, VanEck became the first company to apply for the Solana ETF in the United States. VanEck argued that regulators had no reason to reject SOL's public trade, given its self-similar function to BTC and ETH as digital commodities that had been approved.

Like Ether on the Ethereum network, SOL can be traded on digital asset platforms or used in peer-to-peer transactions, said Matthew Sigel, head of VanEck's digital asset research.