Key takeaways:
The Solana ETF launch with staking drew preliminary pleasure, however institutional demand stays muted.
Ongoing SOL unlocks, DApp sell-offs, and low community exercise weigh towards a sustained value rally.
Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), surged 7% on Monday after affirmation that the first-ever Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) that includes staking capabilities would launch on Wednesday. This information prompted merchants to take a position whether or not it might spur institutional demand and propel SOL’s value above $200.
SOL initially rallied to $161, however adjusted to $157, a 4% achieve from 24 hours prior. The ETF supplier REX Shares partnered with Osprey Funds to determine a taxable C-corporation, bypassing the typical US Securities and Alternate Fee approval course of. That is in contrast to the usual Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) spot ETFs out there in the US.
This construction permits a a lot sooner and smoother launch, a path generally utilized by power infrastructure partnerships. Nonetheless, it differs from normal cryptocurrency ETFs by way of tax effectivity, because the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF taxes dividend earnings at each the company and investor ranges.
After some preliminary pleasure, SOL merchants recalibrated their expectations as they acknowledged that related devices might be launched for almost each altcoin. Furthermore, Grayscale’s Solana Belief (GSOL), which has traded for over two years, manages solely about $75 million in belongings.
For comparability, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) held $10 billion in belongings beneath administration one month earlier than the precise launch of the spot Ethereum ETF in July 2024. This substantial hole signifies that, no matter staking functionality, institutional demand is unlikely to have a major impression on SOL’s value.
SOL value restricted by staking unlocks, competitors and DApp promoting
Even when Solana secures a first-mover benefit for a number of months, this impact might be offset by SOL staking unlocks and promoting strain from a few of Solana’s decentralized functions (DApps). In accordance with DefiLlama, about $585 million value of SOL shall be unlocked from staking over the following two months.
Moreover, a few of Solana’s most profitable DApps have usually offered off their SOL holdings. For instance, the token launch platform Pump transferred over $404 million value of SOL to exchanges in 2025 alone, as reported by Onchain Lens.
This exercise helps clarify why SOL’s efficiency has largely matched that of rivals ETH and BNB over a 30-day interval regardless of the inherently bullish ETF information.
The SOL futures funding fee gives perception into merchants’ positioning. When there’s extreme demand for bullish leverage, this indicator can bounce above 10% per 12 months. Conversely, throughout bearish intervals, funding charges flip detrimental as quick sellers pay to maintain their positions open.
Regardless of a 12.5% achieve over 4 days, SOL’s funding fee has failed to interrupt above the impartial 10% threshold. The present value of $157 stays 47% under the all-time excessive of $295, and onchain information signifies no restoration in community exercise. Even with hype surrounding memecoins, Solana’s community income has dropped by over 90% since January.
Associated: Tokenized stock trading live on Kraken, Bybit and Solana’s DeFi ecosystem
The truth that Robinhood chosen an Ethereum layer-2 community to launch tokenized inventory buying and selling has additionally diminished Solana’s enchantment as the popular resolution for high-output DApps. Equally, Coinbase partnered with Shopify on June 12 to introduce onchain funds on the Base community, which finally settles transactions on the Ethereum base layer.
In the mean time, there’s little proof that the Solana ETF launch will drive a SOL rally to $200, given elevated competitors and the shortage of demand for at present listed Solana Belief devices.
This text is for common data functions and isn’t meant to be and shouldn’t be taken as authorized or funding recommendation. The views, ideas, and opinions expressed listed here are the creator’s alone and don’t essentially replicate or symbolize the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
