2018 fraud case could be 'key' to Solana ETF approval

While analysts believe it's unlikely that a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be approved at this point, VanEck's head of digital assets believes it could still be a possibility.
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, recently said on X (formerly Twitter) that his firm is still considering whether Solana will be able to support cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The classification is what Solana needs to launch its own cryptocurrency ETF in the United States.
On top of that, My Big Coin, which ended six years ago in 2018,
He mentioned that a cryptocurrency (virtual currency) fraud case called "Mr. Coin-MBC" could overturn the current situation.
"This belief is born out of an evolving legal perspective, and courts and regulatory agencies have
"In the past, investors have begun to acknowledge that certain crypto assets can function as securities in primary markets, but like commodities in secondary markets," he said.
In 2018, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) indicted the company's founders on charges of fraudulent sales to customers, stating that "they fraudulently sold MBC tokens,
"This is a violation of the Commodity Futures Trading Act," the defendants said. The defendants argued that since there are no futures contracts that reference MBC tokens, MBC tokens are not a commodity.
However, the judge pointed out that MBC Token is a "virtual currency" just like Bitcoin, and cited a similar analogy to natural gas, and asked for the case to be dismissed.
The CFTC did not accept Kun's argument, which allowed the case to proceed, as it was clear that MBC was a commodity.
The founder was later convicted by a federal jury in 2022 and sentenced to 100 months in prison and to $7.6 million in damages to victims.
Siegel emphasized that “such logic can be applied to digital assets like Solana and could shape the future of ETF regulation.”