21Shares has launched the world’s first solana exchange-traded product (ETP) and partnered with Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management in filing for a bitcoin ETF in the US this week.
The Solana (SOL) ETP (ASOL) Is set to list on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Stuttgart and Dusseldorf multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) with a total expense ratio (TER) of 2.5%.
Physically-backed, ASOL will track the performance of the fourteenth largest blockchain-backed cryptocurrency, Solana.
The coin is an open-source project that uses blockchain technology and a proof-of-history consensus to provide decentralised finance solutions.
Initially launched in Geneva in March 2020, a key selling point for solana is its short processing times for transactions and smart contract executions.
Alongside its scalability and speedy validation, the firm said solana’s low transaction costs were one of the factors which drove it to wrap the asset within an ETP.
It added ASOL will provide additional yield to investors through staking rewards by validating transactions on the solana blockchain.
Hany Rashwan, CEO of 21Shares, said: “We are on track to deliver more new ETPs demanded by clients.
“These new ETPs deliver what clients asked for and we expect to add two new crypto ETPs in the coming months together with new listing and trading venues.”
The arrival of ASOL follows two other world-first launches from 21Shares, the 21Shares Cardano ADA ETP (AADA) and 21Shares Stellar XLM (AXLM), in late April.
Meanwhile, the crypto ETP issuer has made its first foray into the US by applying to launch a bitcoin ETF with Ark Invest, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings.
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) will track the newly created S&P Bitcoin index which offers investors direct exposure to the price of the largest digital asset.
A tale of regulation, a European crypto issuer and Cathie Wood
The move will be seen as a natural step for Ark CEO, CIO and founder Wood, who personally invested in 21Shares and joined the board of parent company Amun at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in May.
The firm already invests in bitcoin in its ARK Next Generation ETF (ARKW) through the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) which sits in the top 10 holdings with almost a 4% weighting.
ARKB is now the twelfth bitcoin ETF filing with the SEC which is still yet to make a decision on whether to approve the structure.
