BlackRock Executive, Rachel Aguirre, highlights three core principles for the Solana ETF approach

Rachel Aguirre, the head of U.S. iShares products at BlackRock, highlighted the company’s three key principles applied when considering the launch of a Solana ETF. She said that BlackRock’s focus remained on addressing client needs, defining the investment thesis, and evaluating the suitability of ETF packaging.

Aguirre said that BlackRock’s principles applied to all investment strategies, including active management, clarifying investment ideas, and using options and other derivatives. Regulatory uncertainty remained a potential hurdle for Solana ETFs as the U.S. SEC was likely to classify SOL as a security, which was different from the classification of Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities.

Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s CIO for ETF and Index Investments, previously mentioned that BlackRock would not be keen on launching a Solana ETF, citing technical challenges, liquidity issues, and concerns about market manipulation. 

Rachel Aguirre talks about principles for the Solana ETF launch

#Solana @blackrock ETF News: BlackRock head of US iShares product Rachel Aguirre gives her take on the idea of launching a Solana ETF.

"Rachel Aguirre, Head of U.S. iShares Products at BlackRock, shared the company’s focus on three key principles when considering the launch of a…

— MartyParty (@martypartymusic) February 24, 2025

BlackRock’s Aguirre shared the company’s focus on three key principles when considering the launch of a Solana ETF. According to Aguirre, the principles included meeting client needs, defining the investment thesis, and assessing whether Solana was suitable for ETF packaging. She also considered liquidity, transparency, and support for active management as a top priority.

Aguirre pointed out that not all cryptocurrencies in the industry were the same and that an investment thesis was necessary. Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas rated the likelihood of Solana ETFs being approved by the U.S. SEC at 70%. They added that deeming SOL a security could send the ETF application process sideways, as it would significantly change the process. 

JPMorgan analysts recently noted that all the applications submitted by VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary Capital were rejected at the request of the U.S. SEC. The Solana ETF applicants filed all the necessary 19b-4 forms as part of the approval process, which led to spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs launching last year.

“The U.S. SEC essentially refused to acknowledge the most recent Solana ETF filings.”

– James Seyffart, Bloomberg Analyst

However, the consensus among many optimistic ETF watchers, including Canary Capital’s Steven McClurg, appeared to be that Solana ETFs will gain the necessary approval by the end of the year. ETF Store President Nate Geraci agreed with the projection that approval for Solana ETFs was likely to come by the end of 2025.

Solana ETF approval remains highly possible as the Solana classification debate continues

Vivian Fang, a finance professor at Indiana University, said the expectation now was that the new administration and the new U.S. SEC leadership would be more crypto-friendly, although this did not necessarily translate to the approval of a Solana ETF. She, however, added that ‘how the U.S. SEC eventually classified Solana’ would have a major impact on how quickly an ETF could be launched. Bitwise Chief Commercial Officer Katherine Dowling also agreed that the ‘elephant in the room’ was classification. 

Teresa Guillén, former litigation counsel at the U.S. SEC, said that ongoing litigation brought by the U.S. SEC against crypto platforms could add complexity to the agency’s approval of proposed Solana ETFs. McClurg pointed out that the burden of proof was on the issuers of these ETFs to demonstrate to the staff of the U.S. SEC that Solana was not a security. 

According to Bloomberg, BlackRock’s silence on the potential launch of a Solana ETF reflected the company’s approach to the ETF market. However, JPMorgan analysts projected that Solana ETFs could cumulatively bring in between $2.7 billion and $5.2 billion during their first months of trading.

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