Fonte Capital Registers the world’s first Solana ETF with Staking

Fonte Capital Ltd, an investment management company, announces the registration of the Fonte Solana Exchange Traded Fund OEIC Plc - the world’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) fully focused on the digital asset Solana (spot SOL) with a staking function.

The Fund enables investors to include Solana in their investment portfolios without the need to directly acquire, store, or manage the digital asset. The Fund’s primary objective is to precisely track the price performance of Solana before the deduction of fees and expenses. Investors also gain the opportunity to participate in the Solana network’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol. The Fund stakes tokens to generate additional yield in SOL. The annual yield depends on the inflation rate of the Solana network and the overall volume of tokens being staked.

The expected yield for 2025 is estimated at 5.5–7.5% per annum in Solana tokens.

“The listing of the world’s first Solana ETF with staking on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) is a historic milestone not only for Fonte Capital, but for the entire digital asset industry. We are building a bridge between traditional financial instruments and innovative blockchain technologies, offering investors a unique product that combines the growth of the underlying asset (SOL) with passive income through staking. This is a logical response to the growing demand for regulated, secure, and yield-generating digital asset investments”
- commented Yerzhan Mussin, CEO of Fonte Capital Ltd.

Staking enables the generation of passive income in the underlying asset, increasing the value of shares without the need for additional contributions. The yield generated fully or partially covers the Fund’s operating expenses, making the investment even more efficient. This mechanism supports long-term capital growth through the functioning of the Solana blockchain network, combining the reliability and transparency of decentralized technologies while providing and expanding access to modern passive income tools based on blockchain infrastructure.

The Fund is registered as a non-Exempt Fund under the jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), making it available to a wide range of investors, including non-qualified market participants. The Fund is included in the Official List of the Astana International Exchange (AIX), with trading of its shares commencing on September 5, 2025, under the ticker SETF, quoted in U.S. dollars.

The Fund’s underlying assets are safeguarded by BitGo Trust Company, Inc., a regulated custodian and digital asset infrastructure provider. With over a decade of experience, BitGo Trust is the custody provider for Fonte’s Spot BTC ETF and other leading bitcoin funds, asset managers and institutions across the globe. BitGo Trust secures the fund’s assets with rigorous security and compliance standards. These are designed to provide some of the highest levels of protection in addition to maintaining $250M in insurance against theft, loss, or misuse of keys.

Digital asset transactions are conducted on major licensed exchanges within the AIFC, including ByBit Limited (Bybit Kazakhstan), ATAIX Eurasia Ltd, and BN KZ Technologies Limited (Binance). The market maker for BETF is Freedom Broker.

“The launch of a Solana ETF sets an important trajectory for the digital asset industry.

1. Institutional recognition of Solana: the listing of the Fund confirms the maturity of the Solana ecosystem as a high-performance platform for DeFi and Web3.
2. Democratization of staking: investors receive yield without technical barriers, withdrawal fees, or added volatility.
3. Regulatory precedent: the success of the ETF will accelerate the integration of PoS assets into the global financial system.
4. Liquidity growth: attracting sovereign funds and conservative investors who had previously not considered direct investment in crypto assets,” — noted Maksim Kovalev, Head of the Digital Assets Department at Fonte Capital Ltd.

The Fonte Solana ETF is not the final goal, but the beginning of a new stage in the development of digital investments in the region. We are transforming DeFi from a niche technology into an infrastructure standard, where every investor — from retail to institutional — can participate in the economy of the future without compromising on security, transparency, or yield,” — emphasized Yerzhan Mussin.

Fonte Capital presents the Solana ETF as an investment instrument providing access to the alt coin in a regulated environment.

As of today, the Fonte Solana ETF is the world’s first spot exchange-traded investment fund with exposure to Solana, registered and structured in accordance with regulatory requirements and available to both qualified and non-qualified investors.

Although in recent years several Solana-focused products have been launched in different countries, none of them has the full legal status of a regulated ETF with broad retail accessibility. In March 2024, asset management company Hashdex launched a Solana ETF in Brazil, available exclusively to qualified investors. On July 2, 2025, trading began in the United States for the REX-Osprey™ SOL + Staking ETF (SSK), which provides exposure to the price of Solana with additional yield from staking. However, from a legal perspective, it is not a classic spot ETF, as it is registered under a different structure and does not require SEC approval under Rule 19b-4.

Interest in altcoin ETFs is growing rapidly amid the development of digital financial instruments. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the probability of SEC approval for a spot Solana ETF in the United States increased from 70% to 90–95% between April and July 2025, reflecting growing confidence in the asset among institutional investors and regulators. As of now, major asset managers — including Grayscale, VanEck, and 21Shares — have filed applications with the SEC to register spot Solana ETFs.

At the same time, Europe continues to see the development of exchange-traded products (Exchange Traded Products, ETPs) similar to ETFs, such as the 21Shares Solana Staking ETP (ASOL) and Bitwise Solana ETP (BSOL), both physically backed by SOL. These instruments are already available on regulated exchanges in Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. However, despite their outward similarity, none of them carries the legal status of an ETF in the classical sense - as a regulated fund operating under the structure of an open-ended investment company with obligations for disclosure, asset custody, and management in the interests of investors.

“Fonte Capital’s digital asset strategy covers three key areas:

1. Expansion of the product line related to DeFi, futures funding arbitrage, and liquidity provision on decentralized exchanges;

2. Integration of real-world assets (RWA): a pilot project for tokenizing fixed-income instruments using Solana smart contracts for cross-chain settlements;

3. Partnerships with DeFi leaders: integration with Serum, Raydium, and Marinade Finance to optimize staking and enhance ETF yield.

Our long-term goal is to become a key provider of hybrid financial solutions, where the advantages of decentralized protocols — speed, autonomy, and openness — are combined with the reliability of traditional financial instruments. The launch of Fonte Solana ETF affirms Fonte Capital’s leadership in the institutional adoption of blockchain technologies and opens the door to large-scale implementation of DeFi 2.0,”
— added Maksim Kovalev.

Background:

Previously, Fonte Capital Ltd launched the first spot Bitcoin ETF in Central Asia, representing a significant step in the development of the regional digital asset ecosystem.

The Fonte Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund OEIC PLC (BETF) has been officially included in the Official List of the Astana International Exchange (AIX) and is regulated under the AIFC framework.

Trading of BETF shares will begin in the third decade of August 2025 under the ticker BETF, with pricing in U.S. dollars.

The Fund offers both institutional and retail investors regulated access to Bitcoin, aiming to reflect the cryptocurrency’s price performance before fees and obligations.

Unlike exchange-traded notes (ETNs), BETF carries no credit risk, as the shares are fully backed by the underlying asset—Bitcoin.

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About Fonte Capital Ltd:

Fonte Capital Ltd is an investment management company registered with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in January 2022. The company specializes in managing a diversified pool of investment funds with the aim of ensuring sustainable capital growth across various asset classes. https://fonte.kz/  

Media Contact:
Sholpan Dosmakhanbet
Head of Marketing and Communications
Fonte Capital Ltd
Email: s.dosmakhanbet@fonte.kz
Phone: +7 775 120 30 10