Lingling Jiang, Partner of DWF Labs, shared with Cointelegraph about the significance of Fidelity Investments’ recent move to file for a spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF). She believes that this is a major step forward for institutional crypto adoption — and a potential regulatory milestone. Jiang sees the filing as a ‘regulatory litmus test’ for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), sharing that:
‘This filing is also more than just a product proposal — it’s a regulatory litmus test,’ said Jiang. ‘If approved, it would signal a maturing posture from the SEC that recognises functional differentiation across blockchains. It would accelerate the development of compliant financial products tied to next-gen assets — and for market makers, that means more instruments, more pairs, and ultimately, more velocity in the system.’
Spot ETF Impacts on Digital Asset Markets
Jiang emphasised that spot ETFs play a critical role in maturing digital asset markets. They deepen liquidity, introduce persistent capital flows, and create new arbitrage opportunities between ETFs and spot trading venues. They can also reduce counterparty risks and make crypto more accessible to institutional investors who have historically been held back by operational and regulatory barriers.
Solana’s Move Into Institutional Adoption
According to Jiang, the proposal signals a fundamental shift in how the market and regulators perceive next-generation blockchain assets.
‘Fidelity’s move reinforces Solana’s transition from a high-performance Layer 1 into an investable, institutional-grade asset,’ said Jiang. ‘A spot ETF doesn’t just legitimise Solana in the eyes of the public — it fundamentally expands the liquidity infrastructure around it, opening the floodgates for risk-managed capital that’s long been waiting for compliant exposure. For market makers and allocators alike, this changes the game.’
A Broader Institutional Push into Crypto
A Solana-based ETF, proposed by Fidelity and supported by Cboe BZX Exchange, comes amid a broader wave of digital asset activity from major financial institutions. Fidelity is also reportedly in the final testing stages of a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, to be launched through its crypto arm, Fidelity Digital Assets. Additionally, the firm is pursuing tokenisation initiatives, including an Ethereum-based share class for its US dollar money market fund.
With stablecoin legislation such as the GENIUS (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins) Act potentially arriving within months, and major players like Fidelity expanding their crypto offerings, the regulatory and institutional foundations for a new era of blockchain finance appear to be solidifying.
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