Key Takeaways
- • Pando Finance listed Hong Kong's second spot Solana ETF (ticker 02831) on October 13, 2026, carrying a 0.6 percent annual management fee, but European investors cannot buy it because Hong Kong-authorised funds may not be distributed to EU retail investors.
- • Estimated total running costs for the Pando fund are 1.6 percent a year, against the 0.6 percent management fee, because custody, trusteeship, audit and trading costs are also paid from fund assets.
- • On Xetra, the 21Shares Solana Staking ETP (ASOL) charges 2.50 percent a year and holds around 588 million euros, while the VanEck Solana ETN (VS0L) charges 1.50 percent and holds around 76 million euros.
- • Over ten years, a 2.50 percent annual cost leaves 77.6 percent of the original SOL quantity versus 86.0 percent at 1.50 percent, an 8.3-percentage-point difference equal to roughly 834 euros on a 10,000-euro investment at unchanged prices.
- • Tax treatment of Solana ETPs under German law remains unresolved: the one-year Section 23 EStG holding-period exemption may not apply unless the note carries a claim to delivery of the coins, and no definitive ruling covers every product variant.
Summary
Hong Kong has launched its second spot exchange-traded fund on Solana, issued by Pando Finance under ticker 02831 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after a subscription period running from October 6 to 12, according to CryptoTicker. The fund is the city's second spot Solana ETF after the ChinaAMC product, and Pando's third exchange-traded product on a single cryptocurrency following Bitcoin and Ethereum. Its management fee is 0.6 percent a year, compared with 0.99 percent for ChinaAMC's fund. The fund may hold up to 100 percent of its net asset value in SOL but uses no derivatives, no leverage and no staking. The reference rate is the CME CF Solana Dollar Reference Rate at the Asia-Pacific close. HashKey Exchange handles trading, HashKey Custody Services handles custody, and BOCI-Prudential Trustee acts as trustee.
The management fee understates the cost of ownership. Pando estimates total running costs at 1.6 percent a year, with the difference coming from custody, trusteeship, audit and trading-related expenses paid from fund assets. ChinaAMC's fund similarly carries an estimated 1.99 percent in total costs against its 0.99 percent management fee. In European terms, the relevant measure is the total expense ratio (TER).
The Hong Kong product is not available to European retail investors. An ETF authorised in Hong Kong may not be distributed to retail investors in the European Union, and US spot Solana ETFs do not meet EU distribution rules. European investors instead access Solana through exchange-traded products (ETPs) or exchange-traded notes (ETNs), which are legally collateralised bearer notes backed by coins held at a custodian. On Xetra, the 21Shares Solana Staking ETP (ISIN CH1114873776, ticker ASOL) charges 2.50 percent a year and holds around 588 million euros, and runs staking that passes some network rewards to investors. The VanEck Solana ETN (ISIN DE000A3GSUD3, ticker VS0L) charges 1.50 percent and holds around 76 million euros. 21Shares has also launched the Core Staking ETP (ISIN CH1385084384), which quoted a launch TER of 0.35 percent; the article advises checking the current rate in the issuer's factsheet because fee models have changed.
For physically backed products, the fee is taken from deposited holdings rather than debited from the investor's account. On an unchanged price, 2.50 percent annual costs leave 77.6 percent of the original coin quantity after ten years, against 86.0 percent at 1.50 percent. On a 10,000-euro investment, that gap is around 834 euros. These calculations exclude staking rewards and show what the wrapper consumes, not investor returns.
Tax treatment differs between direct holdings and ETPs. Under Section 23 EStG, direct SOL held for more than one year is tax-free on sale, and a 1,000-euro exemption limit applies to private disposals within the year, as confirmed in the German Federal Ministry of Finance circular of March 6, 2025. For ETPs, whether the one-year period applies is widely held to depend on whether the note carries a claim to delivery of the actual coins. Without that claim, taxation as investment income under Section 20 EStG (25 percent withholding tax plus solidarity surcharge) is the likely outcome, and a definitive ruling covering all product variants is still missing. Staking income from direct holdings is taxed as other income under Section 22 No. 3 EStG, with a separate 256-euro exemption limit.
The launch coincides with net outflows from US spot Solana ETFs of 24.8 million dollars in the week of October 5 to 9, the first negative week after 14 weeks of inflows, with Bitwise's BSOL accounting for around 21 million dollars. Outflows continued with a further 0.7 million dollars on October 12. Over the same period, US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs together saw around 1.22 billion dollars leave. At midday on the reporting Wednesday, SOL traded at around 106.62 dollars (95.24 euros), 63.6 percent below its record of 293.31 dollars, according to CoinGecko data cited by CryptoTicker. CryptoTicker's assessment is that the Xetra split is only partly explained by staking rewards, and that the fee differential is documented but whether the higher-cost wrapper earns its premium is not. The article makes no buy or sell recommendation.
The management fee understates the cost of ownership. Pando estimates total running costs at 1.6 percent a year, with the difference coming from custody, trusteeship, audit and trading-related expenses paid from fund assets. ChinaAMC's fund similarly carries an estimated 1.99 percent in total costs against its 0.99 percent management fee. In European terms, the relevant measure is the total expense ratio (TER).
The Hong Kong product is not available to European retail investors. An ETF authorised in Hong Kong may not be distributed to retail investors in the European Union, and US spot Solana ETFs do not meet EU distribution rules. European investors instead access Solana through exchange-traded products (ETPs) or exchange-traded notes (ETNs), which are legally collateralised bearer notes backed by coins held at a custodian. On Xetra, the 21Shares Solana Staking ETP (ISIN CH1114873776, ticker ASOL) charges 2.50 percent a year and holds around 588 million euros, and runs staking that passes some network rewards to investors. The VanEck Solana ETN (ISIN DE000A3GSUD3, ticker VS0L) charges 1.50 percent and holds around 76 million euros. 21Shares has also launched the Core Staking ETP (ISIN CH1385084384), which quoted a launch TER of 0.35 percent; the article advises checking the current rate in the issuer's factsheet because fee models have changed.
For physically backed products, the fee is taken from deposited holdings rather than debited from the investor's account. On an unchanged price, 2.50 percent annual costs leave 77.6 percent of the original coin quantity after ten years, against 86.0 percent at 1.50 percent. On a 10,000-euro investment, that gap is around 834 euros. These calculations exclude staking rewards and show what the wrapper consumes, not investor returns.
Tax treatment differs between direct holdings and ETPs. Under Section 23 EStG, direct SOL held for more than one year is tax-free on sale, and a 1,000-euro exemption limit applies to private disposals within the year, as confirmed in the German Federal Ministry of Finance circular of March 6, 2025. For ETPs, whether the one-year period applies is widely held to depend on whether the note carries a claim to delivery of the actual coins. Without that claim, taxation as investment income under Section 20 EStG (25 percent withholding tax plus solidarity surcharge) is the likely outcome, and a definitive ruling covering all product variants is still missing. Staking income from direct holdings is taxed as other income under Section 22 No. 3 EStG, with a separate 256-euro exemption limit.
The launch coincides with net outflows from US spot Solana ETFs of 24.8 million dollars in the week of October 5 to 9, the first negative week after 14 weeks of inflows, with Bitwise's BSOL accounting for around 21 million dollars. Outflows continued with a further 0.7 million dollars on October 12. Over the same period, US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs together saw around 1.22 billion dollars leave. At midday on the reporting Wednesday, SOL traded at around 106.62 dollars (95.24 euros), 63.6 percent below its record of 293.31 dollars, according to CoinGecko data cited by CryptoTicker. CryptoTicker's assessment is that the Xetra split is only partly explained by staking rewards, and that the fee differential is documented but whether the higher-cost wrapper earns its premium is not. The article makes no buy or sell recommendation.
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