VanEck files for JitoSOL ETF after SEC exempts certain liquid staking activities from securities laws

Prominent asset manager VanEck has submitted an application with federal securities regulators to offer an exchange-traded fund that will hold JitoSOL, a liquid staking token on the Solana blockchain.

According to a Form S-1 filed by VanEck Digital Assets on August 22, the proposed JitoSOL ETF aims to track JitoSOL’s price, which represents ownership of staked SOL tokens plus accumulated staking rewards.

The fund will be structured to allow investors exposure to SOL and staking yields through traditional brokerage accounts.

The move represents one of the first ETF applications designed to wrap a Solana liquid staking token rather than a base crypto asset. It follows the SEC’s recent guidance stating that certain liquid staking activities are not securities transactions and therefore do not require registration.

That clarification was issued under the SEC’s Project Crypto initiative, which seeks to modernize rules around activities like staking, custody, and token distribution. The effort could pave the way for approval of crypto-linked products, including Ethereum ETFs that incorporate staking.

Commenting on the filing, Jito said that it is the culmination of months of engagement with the SEC and ecosystem partners, helping establish liquid staking tokens as compliant building blocks for ETFs.

“The S-1 filing begins a review process prior to possible market listing,” the team said in a Friday statement. “As always, we will continue to work collaboratively with regulators and market participants to ensure high standards of compliance, transparency, and investor protection. This is one step in our ongoing mission to narrow the distance between high-performance, credibly neutral infrastructure and the world’s largest capital allocators.”