SEC Pushes Solana ETF Issuers Toward Approval by July

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has asked prospective Solana ETF issuers to submit updated S-1 filings within a week, according to three sources familiar with the process. The agency reportedly plans to return comments within 30 days, accelerating the timeline for potential approval.

The updates focus on staking and in-kind redemptions, signaling the SEC may allow Solana ETF products to utilize staking mechanisms. “We think the SEC may now focus on handling 19b-4 filings for Solana and staking ETFs earlier than planned,” wrote Bloomberg’s James Seyffart.

Firms like Fidelity, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares are vying for a spot Solana ETF as the SEC’s crypto task force intensifies coordination with issuers. Grayscale aims to convert its existing Solana trust into an ETF, while other firms are preparing first-time product launches.

Analysts say recent CME-listed SOL futures have strengthened the case for a spot ETF, just as they did with BTC and ETH. Bloomberg boosted its approval odds to 90% in April, and sources told Blockworks the ETFs could go live as soon as July.

DeFi Tokens Surge After SEC Supports Innovation Exemption

Governance tokens from Uniswap, Aave, and Sky rose sharply after the SEC proposed an “innovation exemption” for DeFi firms. Chairman Paul Atkins announced the policy shift at a roundtable in Washington on Monday, calling decentralized finance “a reflection of core American values.” He said the exemption would help on-chain projects launch without needing traditional registration or licenses.

The announcement ignited a 7.2% gain in Ethereum and lifted DeFi trading volume across the board, according to CoinGecko and Bitwise data. Analysts say the renewed regulatory clarity encouraged heavy inflows into governance tokens, boosting protocol treasuries and collateral levels. Token holders welcomed the move as a sign US regulators may encourage DeFi’s growth instead of stifling it.

Bitcoin Core Expands OP_RETURN Limit In October Update

Bitcoin Core developers have merged a controversial update that will remove the 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN transaction data. The new cap, set at 100,000 bytes, will be included in Bitcoin Core version 30, expected to ship in October. The change allows more data to be embedded in transactions without altering Bitcoin’s consensus rules.

Supporters say the update matches current miner practices and removes incentives for centralized side deals or opaque relay paths. Critics, however, argue it will increase on-chain spam and bloat, straining Bitcoin’s infrastructure and hurting long-term decentralization. Despite internal debate, the change received support from many developers who say it strengthens Bitcoin’s censorship resistance.

South Korea Moves To Legalize Corporate Stablecoins

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party introduced legislation on Tuesday to allow qualified companies to issue stablecoins backed by reserves. The bill, called the Digital Asset Basic Act, requires issuers to hold at least 500 million won in equity and get regulatory approval. It aims to increase market transparency and reduce reliance on overseas digital dollar providers.

President Lee Jae-myung, elected last week, promised stronger domestic crypto policies during his campaign to support the country’s 15 million crypto investors. The proposal follows rising global momentum for stablecoin regulation, especially in the USA and Asia. Analysts say Korea’s move could drive innovation while keeping stablecoin liquidity onshore.

Data of the Day

US spot Bitcoin ETFs are set to surpass $1 trillion in cumulative trading volume by mid-June, just 18 months after their January 2024 debut. Daily volumes between $2.3 and $4.4 billion have brought the total to $995.2 billion, with Bitcoin now trading near $110,000. Analysts say the milestone shows demand remains strong despite broader market pullbacks.

BlackRock’s IBIT fund leads the BTC ETF sector with nearly 80% of all trading volume, overtaking Grayscale’s GBTC since launch. In contrast, Ethereum spot ETFs, introduced in mid-2024, have only reached $83 billion in volume so far. ETF advocates say the surge puts Bitcoin products on par with some of the largest traditional asset funds.

More Breaking News

• The US Senate will vote on Wednesday on the bipartisan GENIUS Act, a long-anticipated stablecoin bill that could shape the future of dollar-backed crypto regulation.
• A Coinbase survey found that 60% of Fortune 500 companies are building blockchain projects, as crypto adoption spreads across both large corporations and SMBs.
• Trump-backed American Bitcoin has purchased $23 million in BTC ahead of its planned SPAC merger, mirroring Strategy’s playbook for treasury-based accumulation.
• Investment giant Guggenheim is partnering with Ripple to tokenize its US Treasury debt products on the XRP Ledger, bringing TradFi deeper into crypto rails.
• France’s Societe Generale will issue a US dollar stablecoin on Ethereum and Solana, becoming the first major European bank to launch such an asset.
• Federal prosecutors have charged crypto founder Iurii Gugnin with laundering $500 million for Russian entities, using New York-based firms as a financial pipeline.
• A mystery trader has opened a $300M leveraged Bitcoin long on Hyperliquid, triggering speculation that it may be the return of liquidated whale James Wynn under a new alias.

For the latest updates on digital asset markets, follow us on X @Datawalletcom.