SEC Hits Pause, Solana Whales Drive Network to New All-Time High

The SEC delayed its decision on Grayscale’s proposed Solana ETF to October 2025, following similar delays for other altcoin ETFs like Canary Capital’s Litecoin product. Public comments are now open.On the same day, the SEC also began reviewing a proposed rule change to allow in-kind redemptions for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF and opened comments for 21Shares’ Dogecoin ETF, reflecting increased ETF activity across crypto.Despite regulatory uncertainty, Solana’s on-chain activity is booming, leading in Q1 revenue and DEX volume.In a recent filing, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would delay a decision on Grayscale’s proposed spot Solana ETF until October 2025. The fund, which would trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is one of several altcoin ETFs awaiting regulatory clarity.Just a week ago, the Commission postponed its ruling on Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF. James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF analyst, said these delays are part of a broader pattern that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Institution of proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change. Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the commission has reached any conclusion with respect to any of the issues involved. Securities and Exchange Commission. What’s the SEC up to?While Solana and Litecoin face regulatory pause, the SEC is now soliciting public comment on a major change to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust: in-kind redemptions, as per a filing on the same day.Related: VanEck Unveils VBILL Tokenised Treasury Fund to Bring US Treasuries On-ChainThe proposed amendment would allow authorised participants to create or redeem ETF shares using Bitcoin itself instead of cash, a structural shift that many see as critical to improving efficiency and reducing friction in ETF operations. When the fund was approved in January, it was limited to cash-only transactions.The public comment window on Nasdaq’s proposed rule change is now open, giving stakeholders a chance to weigh in on whether the SEC should approve the new redemption mechanism.Also entering its comment phase is the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF. Filed under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d), the fund would track DOGE via a CF Benchmarks index and offer investors traditional brokerage access to the meme coin.Though seen as a long shot, the filing reflects growing interest in packaging high-volume altcoins into accessible, regulated products. Whether the SEC ultimately approves it is another question entirely.Pressure Ahead for Solana?Solana is facing renewed sell pressure from major holders, just as the network continues to post record-breaking performance.On May 12, on-chain data flagged a wave of significant unstaking and exchange activity. One whale unstaked 103,040 SOL, roughly US$17M (AU$26M) at current prices, while a wallet tied to the bankrupt FTX/Alameda estate released another 187,625 SOL, worth over US$32M (AU$49M).A whale/institution has unstaked 103,040.6 $SOL, worth $17.7M, after a month of inactivity.The whale still holds 3,369,634 $SOL worth $584.09M.https://t.co/42C4YbmOsA pic.twitter.com/u1FAB1371k— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) May 12, 2025The timing suggests large holders are locking in gains after Solana’s recent price run, which rallied over 20% in the last seven days alone. Source: CoinGecko.Despite the heavy moves, Solana led all blockchains in Q1 2025 revenue, pulling in over US$200M (AU$310M) and beating Ethereum (ETH), according to DefiLlama. Moreover, in the past 30 days, the network has handled more than US$81.8B (AU$2.8B) in DEX volume, according to DeFiLlama, capturing 24.25% of the market and ranking first by DEX activity.Related: TRUMP Token $4.8M Dinner Guests Revealed, Plus a New Trump Family BTC Mining DealThe post SEC Hits Pause, Solana Whales Drive Network to New All-Time High appeared first on Crypto News Australia.