ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said asset manager Bitwise’s decision to impose a 0.20% fee on the revised U.S.-based Solana ETF application that includes staking may be a sign of how competitive the product can be among ETF issuers.
“At first I thought it would go higher, but it would take a war to bring it down this much,” Balciunas said in an X post on Wednesday. “They probably decided they were going to end up there anyway, so do it now,” he said, adding that this was “a move over there by a Terrordome veteran.”
Bitwise on Wednesday amended its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to update its proposed Solana (SOL) ETF to include a 0.20% annual management fee and the addition of staking features. This fee falls in the middle of the range for most crypto ETFs, typically falling between 0.15% and 0.25%.
“Low fees have a near-perfect track record of attracting investors, which is a good sign for potential inflows,” Balciunas explained.
Cryptocurrency ETF fee speculation has been around for a while.
Ahead of a potential crypto ETF launch, industry attention often focuses on which ETF issuer offers the lowest fees.
Competition was especially intense ahead of the U.S. debut of Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in January 2024, with asset manager VanEck waiving all fees on up to $2.5 billion in assets under management and later extending the waiver until January 2026. Meanwhile, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) has set its annual sponsorship fee at 0.15%.
On July 2, the REX-Osprey Solana Staking ETF (SSK), the first Solana staking ETF in the United States, closed its debut trading day with $12 million in inflows. SSK’s annual management fee is 0.75%.
BlackRock is silent on Solana ETF
However, Balciunas pointed out that Bitwise’s proposed service is cheaper, better tracked, and 100% physically backed by Solana’s spot assets. “SSK suffers from tracking issues like futures ETFs. It is 12% behind spot Solana, although it has improved over the last month,” he said.
Related: US Bitcoin ETF records second-highest inflow since launch amid crypto rally
Cryptocurrency commentator “Dr. Magoo” echoed the statement that many people have recently asked about why the world’s largest asset management company, BlackRock, “doesn’t apply for the SOL ETF.”
ETF analyst James Seifert recently said it would be “messed up” if BlackRock filed a last-minute application, even though the company has already done the heavy lifting with the SEC to allow the company to bring its product to market alongside other issuers.
ETF analyst Nate Geraci predicted on September 26 that multiple applications for Solana ETFs with staking could receive U.S. approval by mid-October.
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