Solana stake ETF "SSK" has performed well after its launch, and its innovative structure has attracted follow.

On July 3, the first Solana staking ETF was officially listed for trading on the Chicago Options Exchange, with a first-day trading volume of $33 million and inflows of $12 million, exceeding market expectations. This ETF not only tracks the price of Solana (SOL) but also provides native staking rewards for investors, managed jointly by two companies.

Compared to traditional cryptocurrency ETFs, this ETF offers innovative variable staking reward monthly dividends, with a current dividend yield of 7.3%. An ETF analyst commented that this is a "healthy trading start", noting that the trading volume reached 8 million USD within the first 20 minutes of listing.

Looking back at the recent performance of other Solana-related ETFs, the Solana futures ETF that was launched in mid-March had a trading volume of 12.1 million USD on its first day, which was below expectations. The two Solana futures ETFs launched in late March had a low average daily trading volume, indicating that market demand has not been effectively stimulated. In contrast, several spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January of this year had a total trading volume of 4.6 billion USD on their first day.

According to the official introduction, this ETF aims to meet the needs of various types of investors, including retail investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies, crypto-native investors supporting blockchain innovation, financial advisors requiring compliant blockchain income, and institutional investors pursuing ETF transparency.

The reason this ETF was able to launch relatively quickly is partly due to its use of the "C-corporation" registration form, which bypassed the traditional ETF approval process. It is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, rather than the Securities Act of 1933. This structure allows it to go public more quickly, but it also faces some challenges.

Tax issues are one of the main challenges. Since staking rewards are considered ordinary income, the fund must pay corporate income tax, and investors are also subject to dividend tax and capital gains tax, resulting in a higher overall tax burden. In addition, regulators have concerns about whether this innovative structure is suitable for more funds to be launched.

An independent researcher explained that this structure has a fast approval speed but requires more frequent information disclosure and faces double taxation issues. He believes this structure is more suitable for emerging assets like Solana, rather than mature large assets like Bitcoin.

Some opinions suggest that the price of the ETF may not accurately reflect the price movements of SOL. The ETF documents indicate that the fund's performance will not completely replicate the performance of the reference asset due to factors such as stake rewards and trading fees.

In May of this year, two companies applied to the regulatory authorities to launch Solana and Ethereum type C company ETFs. At the end of May, the regulatory authorities requested to postpone the effective date, but by the end of June, they notified "no further comments," which the industry regarded as implicit approval.

Analysis suggests that this C-corporation structure may circumvent typical rule change procedures, providing a reference for other cryptocurrency ETFs. Currently, several companies are competing to launch Solana spot ETFs, which are expected to be approved within two to four months. At least 60 other cryptocurrency ETF proposals are still awaiting review.