BlackRock will file for both Solana and XRP ETFs, Nate Geraci

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is expected to enter the Solana and XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, according to Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store. 

In an X post this Friday, Geraci predicted that BlackRock would file for both Solana and XRP ETFs, with Solana coming “any day” and XRP likely after the resolution of its ongoing legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“BlackRock is currently the leader by assets in both Bitcoin and Ether ETFs,” Geraci wrote. “I simply don’t see them allowing competitors to come in & launch ETFs on 2 of the top 5 non-stablecoin crypto assets w/out any sort of fight.” 

BlackRock had said it wasn’t interested in other crypto ETFs

BlackRock has not yet made any official or defined moves to insinuate that it would be launching an XRP or Solana ETF. In the last year, all its executives, including CEO Larry Fink, Head of Active ETFs Jay Jacobs, and CIO Samara Cohen, have all said that the world’s largest asset manager will not be looking to add ETFs besides Bitcoin and Ethereum anytime soon.

Speaking to Bloomberg’s Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas in December, Jay Jacobs stated that the firm was focused on its existing crypto investment vehicles and not currently interested in others. 

“We’re really just at the tip of the iceberg with Bitcoin and especially Ethereum. Just a tiny fraction of our clients own ($IBIT and $ETHA) so that’s what we’re focused on,” remarked Jacobs.

A false rumor circulated on social platforms in January 2025 about an iShares XRP Trust filing, but Balchunas debunked it and said that at the time, BlackRock had not made any XRP ETF submissions.

The SEC is yet to approve any spot XRP ETF applications, also recently deciding to postpone rulings on filings from firms such as Grayscale. Still, industry observers like Geraci expect the US government will uphold its regulatory clarity promise and put a conclusion to Ripple‘s legal battle with the SEC.

XRP’s tug-of-war with the financial regulator started back in December 2020. But the former got a partial win in July 2023, when a court presided by Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s direct sales of XRP to institutional investors violated securities laws, but sales on public exchanges did not constitute securities transactions. 

The SEC, led by former chair Gary Gensler, sought to appeal the decision and dragged the case up until now. After Gensler left office on January 20, the “revamped” financial regulator dropped several cases against crypto firms like Coinbase. The XRP community now believes that Ripple could be next, although they aren’t sure when it will be.

Solana, XRP ETFs may be approved in 2025

Last Monday, as reported by Cryptopolitan, asset manager Franklin Templeton submitted a filing with the SEC for an XRP ETF. The proposed fund would track the price of XRP, with Coinbase Custody Trust serving as the custodian for its holdings.

Franklin Templeton joins a growing list of firms vying for an XRP ETF. As of March 14, nine companies have applied for similar products, including Bitwise, ProShares, 21Shares, and others. 

Bitwise was the first to submit a Form S-1 filing for an XRP ETF on October 2, 2024, while 21Shares and WisdomTree followed suit in late 2024. ProShares and CoinShares also entered the competition this year, filing multiple XRP ETF products on January 17 and February 11, respectively.

Alongside the developments in the XRP ETF market, the SEC has acknowledged a number of Solana ETFs, including the Canary Solana Trust, proposed by Canary Capital. The regulator also recognized similar applications from VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise.

Decentralized betting platform Polymarkets puts a Solana ETF greenlight before July 31 at a possibility of 52%, while XRP’s prediction in the same period stands at 36%.

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