Bitwise Asset Management has updated its proposed Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) to explicitly include “Staking” in the fund’s name and disclosed a 0.20% unitary sponsor fee—one of the lowest headline fees yet seen for a US crypto ETF. Bloomberg’s James Seyffart flagged the amendment late Wednesday, writing: “NEW: Bitwise files an update to their Solana ETF filing to include Staking in the name and provides the fee. Fee will be 0.20%.”
In follow-up posts, Seyffart added that “no fee for the first 3 months and for the first $1 billion in AUM [assets under management]” would apply—an aggressive launch incentive mirroring the fee-war playbook that helped turbocharge spot bitcoin ETFs at the start of the year. Eric Balchunas, his colleague at Bloomberg, underscored the move’s competitiveness: “Bitwise not playing around, plans to charge just 0.20% for their spot Solana ETF.”
Solana Staking ETF Launch Date Remains Unclear
The amendment signals that issuers and the Securities and Exchange Commission have narrowed outstanding issues on the structure of spot Solana products that incorporate staking, a feature unique to proof-of-stake assets. Earlier in the year, the SEC asked prospective Solana ETF sponsors to submit updated S-1 registration statements—widely interpreted as a pre-launch step once substantive policy questions are settled.
Timing remains the key variable. The US government shutdown that began on October 1 has forced the SEC onto skeleton staffing, slowing most non-urgent reviews and stalling a broad slate of securities registrations. With more than 90% of the SEC’s staff furloughed, routine offering and listing processes are largely paused—an overhang that could push back crypto ETF effective dates even as the paperwork advances. As Seyffart put it when asked whether a shutdown would delay approval: “Yes. I believe so.”
Even with that backdrop, Bitwise’s pricing telegraphs a confident, bare-knuckle approach to market share. A 20-basis-point fee places the proposed Solana Staking ETF at or below the lower end of the fee spectrum that helped bitcoin ETFs achieve mass adoption, and it lands amid a broader “fee-first” arms race that has repeatedly proven decisive in ETFs’ opening months. Balchunas has long argued that “low fees have an almost perfect record in attracting investors,” a pattern that crypto ETPs have closely followed.
What happens next will hinge on two tracks. Procedurally, the SEC must allow updated S-1s to go effective before trading can begin; practically, the shutdown will dictate when staff can finalize those reviews. Strategically, Bitwise’s decision to enshrine staking in the fund’s name and to lead with an ultra-low fee sets the competitive tone for rival Solana filings, and—once Washington reopens—positions the product to capitalize on pent-up demand the moment the window clears.
In parallel to Bitwise, other spot SOL issuers on the SEC’s docket include VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary—each facing final 240-day decision dates on October 16, 2025—alongside Grayscale’s proposed conversion of its Solana trust, which carries an earlier October 10, 2025 deadline. Franklin Templeton’s final date is November 14, 2025, Fidelity’s is December 5, 2025, and an Invesco Galaxy product runs to April 16, 2026. These dates reflect the SEC’s 19b-4 clock that began when Cboe first filed to list the SOL ETFs; S-1 effectiveness would still be required for trading to commence.
At press time, SOL traded at $227.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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