Brazil's Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has approved a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to local business publication exame, the ETF, created by Brazilian asset manager QR Asset and operated by fund administrator Vortx, is in a pre-operational phase, pending approval by Brazilian stock exchange B3.

The ETF will reference the CME CF Solana Dollar Reference Rate, created by CF Benchmarks and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Speaking to exame, QR Asset manager and chief investment officer Theodoro Fleury described the firm as a "global pioneer in this segment, consolidating Brazil's position as a leading market for regulated investments in crypto assets."

Solana ETFs around the world

With the CVM's approval, Brazil has outpaced the U.S. in the race to bring a spot Solana ETF to market. Following the surprise approval of multiple U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, firms including VanEck and 21Shares have filed S-1 registration forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the hope of securing approval.

In May, British bank Standard Chartered predicted in a research note that Solana and XRP ETFs are on the horizon, "albeit this is likely a 2025 story not a 2024 one."

Last month, VanEck's head of digital assets predicted that approval of a U.S. Solana ETF hinges on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, dubbing the lack of a regulated futures market for Solana a "Psyop" by SEC chair Gary Gensler.

However, asset manager BlackRock has sat out the race, taking a skeptical position and predicting that "it will be a while before we see anything else" beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Meanwhile, to the north, investment fund manager 3iQ has filed for a Solana ETF in Canada, aiming to be the first to market in North America. Interestingly, 3iQ has said from the outset that the fund would stake the SOL it buys to back shares. “The Solana Fund offers easy exposure to SOL without technical complexity,” the company wrote at the time. “As part of our investment strategy, the Solana Fund will stake SOL to earn rewards.”

Edited by Stacy Elliott.