Four altcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will begin trading on October 28, marking the first wave of non-Bitcoin, non-Ethereum spot crypto ETFs in the US and potentially catalyzing a rotation into altcoin after months of consolidation.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas confirmed that NYSE and Nasdaq have posted listing notices for the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF. A few hours later, Bitwise confirmed that BSOL trading will begin on October 28.
Additionally, Grayscale’s Solana ETF converts the next day. Balchunas stated:
“Assuming there is no last-minute SEC intervention, it looks like this is happening.”
Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg told journalist Eleanor Terrett that the company’s spot HBAR and LTC ETFs are effective and will trade on Nasdaq.
According to Terrett’s report, McClurg said:
“Litecoin and Hedera are the next two token ETFs to take effect after Ethereum. We look forward to launching tomorrow.”
Multicoin Capital partner Kyle Samani first announced the launch date of the Bitwise SOL staking ETF in a now-deleted October 27 post.
Reports following Samani’s publication stated that the NYSE had confirmed that the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF had received trading approval.
Infrastructure built for institutional moment
Thomas Uhm, Chief Commercial Officer at Jito, said the approvals validate months of operational preparatory work.
In a note he stated:
“We have been at the precipice of this moment and I am extremely proud that we are finally here. The approval of deployed Solana ETFs is an important step for institutional access to crypto.”
He added that this validates the infrastructure work Jito has done to integrate with qualified custodians, build liquidity on exchanges and OTC markets, and address regulatory, tax and accounting issues facing institutions.
Jito’s JitoSOL liquid staking token (LST) works within REX’s SSK product and is the only Solana LST with a full LST ETF application from VanEck.
Uhm emphasized building relationships with authorized participants and market makers:
“We’ve built relationships with the largest authorized participants, liquidity providers and market makers in the world. Business is about relationships, and we’ve been in the rooms that matter to ETF issuers and users to help them understand what liquid staking can do within these structures.”
The staking component differentiates Solana products from Ethereum spot ETFs, which launched in July 2024 without staking features due to regulatory concerns.
Uhm positioned the approval as a starting point rather than a conclusion, citing collaboration with “tier 1” investment banks on products related to these ETFs and relationships with major hedge funds.
The Oct. 28 launches follow months of issuer filings and an SEC review.
Ethereum’s expansion into other altcoins tests whether institutional demand extends beyond the two largest cryptocurrencies and whether regulated products can absorb supply without causing the volatility that characterized previous altcoin rallies.