Fidelity Enters Solana ETF Race as BlackRock Sits on Sidelines

Fidelity added a third spot crypto ETF to its lineup on Tuesday with the debut of the Fidelity Solana Fund (FSOL), an ETF that holds SOL, the native cryptocurrency of the Solana blockchain. 

Solana is one of the largest smart-contract platforms and a major competitor to Ethereum. SOL has a market cap of roughly $80 billion, about one-fifth the size of ether’s $380 billion valuation, according to CoinMarketCap.

FSOL will waive both its expense ratio and staking-reward fees through May 18, 2026. After that date, the fund will charge a 0.25% expense ratio and a 15% fee on staking rewards.

Staking Structure

Like the other Solana ETFs that launched this year—including the $418 million Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), the $211 million REX-OSPREY SOL + Staking ETF (SSK), and the $89 million Grayscale Solana Trust ETF (GSOL)—Fidelity plans to stake the SOL held by the trust. 

Staking is the process of locking up tokens to help secure the network and validate transactions, and in return, earning rewards paid out by the blockchain.

Fidelity will use Anchorage Digital Bank NA, BitGo Trust Company, and Coinbase Custody Trust Company to custody and stake the SOL through one or more node operators. The firm aims to stake up to 100% of the portfolio, aside from SOL reserved for redemptions, expenses, liquidity needs, or other operational requirements.

The prospectus notes that “under normal circumstances the Trust may stake up to 100% of the Trust’s SOL, [but] there is no minimum percentage the Trust is required to stake.” Staking fees will be split among the custodians, node operators, and Fidelity.

For investors, a high staking percentage is likely appealing. Staking rewards are a core part of Solana’s investment case and are often viewed as crypto’s version of yield.

Competitors Already Pushing for Full Staking

Bitwise has taken the most aggressive approach to staking so far. BSOL stakes 100% of its SOL and advertises a 7.1% reward rate. Instead of delegating to third-party providers, Bitwise—in partnership with infrastructure firm Helius—is running its own validator, called Bitwise Onchain Solutions, to stake the ETF’s holdings.

The firm also outlined a backstop for liquidity. If unstaking delays prevent BSOL from meeting redemptions on a standard T+2 basis, the sponsor may temporarily swap “moderately liquid” SOL (tokens in the unstaking cooldown period) for “highly liquid” SOL from a third party. Those swaps would occur at a spread, which could slightly reduce NAV, though Bitwise expects the impact to be minimal.

BSOL charges a 0.20% management fee and 6% staking fee, both waived for the first three months on the first $1 billion in assets.

Meanwhile, GSOL takes a steeper cut with a 23% staking fee and 0.35% expense ratio, though it also aims to stake 100% of holdings.

Fidelity’s Positioning

FSOL enters a growing but competitive field, with BSOL currently the largest and lowest-cost option. Fidelity’s brand strength and distribution network, however, make it a formidable entrant.

The company already runs the second-largest bitcoin ETF, the $18.3 billion Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), behind BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). It also manages the third-largest Ethereum ETF, the $2.1 billion Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH).

With BlackRock notably absent from the Solana ETF race so far, Fidelity may see an opening. The ETF giant appears comfortable focusing on its dominant bitcoin and ether lineup for now, though it could still join later.

The arrival of FSOL adds another heavyweight to the competition and sets up a clear contest between crypto ETF specialist Bitwise and a mainstream brand with massive reach.