Volatility Shares, a prominent exchange-traded fund (ETF) service provider, recently launched two Solana futures ETFs on March 20. The two new funds, the Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the 2x Solana ETF (SOLT), have demonstrated stable early performance. According to Yahoo Finance, these ETFs have recorded average daily trading volumes of approximately 80,000 and 140,000 units, respectively. In monetary terms, these figures translate to $1.25 million and $2.16 million in daily traded value.
Despite a steady start, the Solana futures ETFs are experiencing relatively low demand compared to Bitcoin-based futures ETFs. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the stark contrast in trading volumes between Solana ETFs and the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). When BITO debuted in October 2021, it averaged over 12 million units per day in trading volume during its first week. With a mean price of around $17 per unit, BITO’s daily trading volume reached approximately $204 million.
Balchunas commented on the lower enthusiasm surrounding the Solana ETFs in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “The new Solana futures ETF hasn’t done much. A million in volume [for the] first few days is decent for [a] normal ETF, but nothing versus BTC.” He further explained that as investors move away from Bitcoin, the market’s interest in alternative crypto-based ETFs tends to diminish.
The stark difference in trading volume highlights the dominance of Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency ETF market. Bitcoin remains the flagship digital asset, and its widespread adoption continues to overshadow altcoins like Solana in terms of market demand. While Solana has gained traction as a high-performance blockchain network with lower transaction fees and faster processing times, it has yet to reach the same level of institutional and retail investor interest as Bitcoin.
The launch of Solana futures ETFs marks a significant step for the broader cryptocurrency market, offering more diversified investment options. However, the trading volume suggests that investor sentiment remains heavily skewed toward Bitcoin. Many analysts believe that for alternative cryptocurrency ETFs to gain significant traction, they need stronger institutional backing and higher levels of mainstream adoption.
While SOLZ and SOLT are off to a reasonable start, their long-term success will depend on factors such as market sentiment, regulatory developments, and Solana’s continued growth in the blockchain space. For now, Bitcoin ETFs continue to set the benchmark, leaving newer cryptocurrency ETFs struggling to catch up.
Source: Bitcoin
