Pantera Capital’s Solana ETF prediction—Will it happen in 2025?

• Solana’s strong fundamentals and developer growth fuel optimism for a potential ETF approval.
• Institutional interest in altcoin ETFs is rising, with multiple applications under SEC review.

The growing anticipation surrounding altcoin ETFs in 2025 has placed the spotlight firmly on a potential Solana [SOL] ETF.

Industry executives have already voiced their expectations, and now Pantera Capital has reinforced this prediction, citing SOL’s strong fundamentals.

Pantera Capital hints at an upcoming Solana ETF

In February 2025, Pantera Capital released a report titled “Headwinds Becoming Tailwinds.” General Partner Cosmo Jiang and Investment Analyst Eric Wallach highlighted factors signaling a shift in market dynamics.

These changes could pave the way for SOL ETF approval. The report suggested,

“We also believe Solana is among the most likely next digital assets to have an ETF.  It has strong fundamentals that undergird a positive investment case, is a widely traded digital asset on large reputable exchanges that can be monitored, and its ownership is widely decentralized – all key considerations.”

In fact, major firms like Canary Capital, VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise have entered the race, reflecting a surge in demand to bring SOL to Wall Street.

Why has Solana gained the spotlight among other altcoins?

Solana’s evolution into a dominant smart contract platform drives this momentum, outpacing competitors in key metrics.

The network has attracted the highest number of new developers and processed record-breaking DEX trading volumes. It has even surpassed Ethereum [ETH] in generated fees.

Solana’s flagship DEX, Raydium (RAY), has outperformed Ethereum’s Uniswap (UNI) by 30% in trading volume for two months.

The Pump.Fun mania fueled a surge in new token creation on Solana, with over 90% of new tokens launched on its blockchain in Q4 2024.

Solana is also the preferred network for AI agent tokens and decentralized science (DeSci) cryptocurrencies.

In 2024, 7,625 new developers joined Solana, surpassing Ethereum’s 6,456.

Solana’s growing dominance underscores its strong case for ETF approval, strengthening its position in the evolving crypto market.

What about other altcoin ETFs?

That being said, Polymarket data suggests a probability of 84% of SOL ETF approval in 2025.

However, despite this optimism, SOL’s price has faced short-term pressure, dropping 1.30% in the past 24 hours to $192.40, as per CoinMarketCap.

While this decline could be linked to ETF speculation, broader market conditions may also play a role.

Meanwhile, interest in altcoin ETFs is expanding beyond Solana, with Ripple [XRP] ETF approval odds at 80%, Litecoin [LTC] at 87%, Cardano [ADA] at 59%, and Dogecoin [DOGE] at 31%, among others.

This wave of potential ETF approvals suggests that institutional appetite for crypto-based financial products is on the rise, reinforcing the growing mainstream acceptance of digital assets.