James Seyffart: "BlackRock's Last-Minute Entry Into Spot Solana ETF and Simultaneous Launch Is Unfair"

James Seyffart, an ETF analyst, criticized the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, for joining the Solana (SOL) spot ETF at the last minute and launching it simultaneously with existing issuers, stating it is unfair.

According to Cointelegraph, a specialized crypto media outlet, Seyffart said in a YouTube discussion with ETF analyst Nate Geraci on the 9th (local time), "It makes no sense for BlackRock, which hasn't even applied yet, to jump in at the last minute and launch at the same time as other issuers. Smaller issuers have been coordinating with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for several months to prepare the necessary documents."

The first company to file for a spot Solana ETF in the U.S. was VanEck in June 2024. Subsequently, Bitwise, Grayscale, Invesco, 21Shares, CoinShares, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity entered the competition. The SEC has repeatedly delayed its decision on approval, requesting amended applications to ensure legal clarity.

Additionally, Seyffart predicted that BlackRock is more likely to launch an index product that tracks the spot prices of major crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) rather than a single Solana ETF. Geraci added, "BlackRock could enter later after gauging market demand, and a more cautious approach is expected for assets other than BTC and ETH."

Seyffart said, "About 90% of the crypto market capitalization is concentrated in BTC and ETH, so there is little loss even if no other products are launched," and added, "Demand for index products is likely to be quite high."