VanEck proposes JitoSOL ETF, signaling new chapter in potential crypto staking funds

A JitoSOL exchange-traded fund has joined the race for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval. 

According to a registration statement filed on Friday from global investment management firm VanEck, the proposed VanEck JitoSOL ETF aims to track the price of the liquid staking token (LST) JitoSOL. JitoSOL is a tokenized version of staked SOL that allows users to continue trading the value of their staked assets while still earning on-chain rewards. 

The Jito Foundation said the fund would be "the first spot Solana ETF 100% backed by a liquid staking token (LST): the Jito Network’s JitoSOL," in a statement. Liquid staking refers to obtaining a tradable asset in exchange for staking crypto. Liquid staking is different from more traditional staking in that it lets users retain access to the value of their staked assets for use across decentralized finance applications. 

In addition to debuting the JitoSOL ETF proposal on Friday, the Jito Foundation also detailed months of engagement with the SEC and other stakeholders. 

Jito and other crypto entities have met with the SEC's Crypto Task Force over the past few months. Jito Labs CEO Lucas Bruder and Chief Legal Officer Rebecca Rettig spoke about staking, restaking and how that could actually work in ETFs, according to previous reporting from The Block. 

The SEC in recent months has set out to clarify its stance on staking and in May said that proof-of-stake staking activities do not constitute securities transactions, later clarifying that certain liquid staking activities do not involve securities. 

"With staff guidance now on record, the compliance runway for LST-based ETFs/ETPs is clear and actionable, and has resulted in the first ETF comprised of LSTs," the Jito Foundation said on Friday. "Ultimately, packaging exposure to JitoSOL in a regulated wrapper is a meaningful step toward bridging the gap between emergent blockchain infrastructure and institutional allocators."

VanEck's proposal comes a month after REX-Osprey's Solana staking ETF integrated staking rewards through a partnership with JitoSOL.

The SEC is currently weighing dozens of proposals for crypto ETFs amid a friendlier regulatory environment toward crypto under the Trump administration. In July, the agency voted to approve orders to allow in-kind creations and redemptions by authorized participants for crypto ETFs. The agency also then allowed applications looking to list and trade spot bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, as well as options on "certain spot bitcoin ETPs."

During the Biden administration, the SEC greenlighted spot bitcoin ETFs and later Ethereum ETFs, following a pivotal court ruling brought by Grayscale.

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