The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged the bid by Grayscale, a crypto asset management firm, to create an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for the smart contract platform Solana (SOL).

In a post on the social media platform X, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart highlights the significance of the SEC’s acknowledgement, as the regulatory agency had previously rejected such attempts.

“UPDATE: SEC just acknowledged the Grayscale Solana 19b-4. This is actually newsworthy because the SEC had refused to do this in recent filing attempts for SOL.”

ETFs allow traders to gain exposure to assets like precious metals and cryptocurrencies without actually owning them. The SEC approved ETFs based on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in 2024.

According to senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, this acknowledgement is a small step in the right direction, as the SEC, under former Chair Gary Gensler, had instructed the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) to withdraw its application for a Solana ETF.

“Notable because this is the first time an ETF filing tracking a coin that had previously been called a ‘security’ has been acknowledged by the SEC. Only six weeks ago the [Gensler]-led SEC told CBOE to withdraw their Solana 19b-4. So we are now in new territory, albeit just a baby step, but seemingly the direct result of leadership change.”

In December, the SEC rejected all ETF applications based on SOL before Gensler stepped down from his position before the inauguration of President Donald Trump. At the time, Balchunas predicted that the firms would reapply after the change in regime.

Seyffart also notes that the SEC changing its stance on Solana could have positive implications for crypto firms facing lawsuits where the regulatory body claims that SOL qualifies as a “security.”

Seyffart mentions that the final deadline for Grayscale’s application would be around October 11th.

At the time of writing, Solana is trading at $193.37, representing a 1.3% increase in the last 24 hours.