The launch of Solana (SOL) futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on March 17 saw modest trading volume, sparking speculation about institutional demand for the altcoin. Despite its potential, the product has yet to gain the same traction as previous Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, according to a report from K33 Research.

SOL Futures’ Modest Trading Activity
On its first day of trading, CME’s Solana futures saw just $12.3 million in trading volume and $7.8 million in open interest. Compared to the $102.7 million Bitcoin futures saw on their launch day in December 2017 and $31 million Ethereum’s on its first day, SOL’s numbers appear to be quite low.

Vetle Lunde, director of research at K33, along with David Zimmerman, senior analyst, commented that the SOL futures contract was launched in a context of market uncertainty, which may have affected interest from institutional investors. However, this delay may also reflect the fact that demand for altcoins outside of Ethereum is still not really strong from the perspective of large financial institutions.

Signal for a Solana Spot ETF?
The report from K33 Research also hypothesized that if the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves a Solana spot ETF, it may see a similar reaction to the CME futures contract, with limited interest from institutional investors.

As of March 18, at least six ETF issuers in the US, including VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, Grayscale Investments, and Franklin Templeton, have filed applications with the SEC to list a SOL spot ETF. The SEC’s approval of these products could usher in a new phase of Solana’s development in the traditional financial market, but the actual level of interest remains a question mark.

Conclusion
Although Solana futures on CME have had a less impressive start, they still play an important role in assessing institutional demand for the altcoin. If the Solana spot ETF is approved by the SEC, the market will have more data to assess whether SOL can attract large inflows from investment funds. For now, observers are still closely watching the SEC’s moves and the financial market’s reaction to Solana-related products.