Morgan Stanley Files for Solana ETF; Visa and J.P. Morgan Activate Solana Settlement Rails

Institutional Rails Go Live

The debate over institutional infrastructure ended this week. J.P. Morgan executed a $50 million commercial paper issuance on Solana, Visa expanded USDC settlement to U.S. banks on the same chain, and Morgan Stanley filed for a Solana Trust. The message is absolute: Solana has graduated from speculative casino to settlement layer.

SOL held steady at $138 (+1.2%) following the news, as the market priced in the structural shift from “crypto native” trading to regulated payment flows.

The Visa Pivot: U.S. Banks On-Chain

Visa’s expansion of its stablecoin settlement pilot into the U.S. market marks a critical integration point. For the first time, domestic partners like Cross River Bank and a16z-backed Lead Bank are settling fiat obligations using USDC on Solana. This isn’t a testnet drill. These are live, high-value flows moving over a public blockchain to bypass legacy banking hours.

Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s Global Head of Growth, was explicit about the driver:

“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it. They’re preparing to use it.”

The network now handles approximately $3.5 billion in annualized stablecoin settlement volume. By utilizing Solana’s sub-second finality, participating banks can clear funds continuously, weekends and holidays included, eliminating the T+1 friction of the traditional ACH system.

J.P. Morgan Breaks the Private Chain Wall

Perhaps the more significant signal came from J.P. Morgan. Historically tied to its private Onyx blockchain, the bank chose Solana for a $50 million commercial paper issuance for Galaxy Digital. The debt instrument was purchased by Franklin Templeton and Coinbase, with settlement occurring entirely in USDC.

This invalidates the “permissioned chains only” thesis. When a G-SIB (Global Systemically Important Bank) moves regulated debt issuance to a public permissionless ledger, they are validating the network’s resilience and liquidity depth. Solana is no longer just for memecoins; it is carrying institutional debt.

The ETF Race Begins

Morgan Stanley formalized the asset class’s maturity on Tuesday, filing an S-1 with the SEC for a Solana Trust. Coming just days after the bank opened crypto access to all wealth management clients, the filing positions SOL to follow Bitcoin’s ETF trajectory. J.P. Morgan analysts estimate altcoin ETFs could attract $14 billion in their first six months, with roughly $6 billion targeting Solana products.

Simultaneously, the State of Wyoming launched its Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) on Solana yesterday. Managed by Franklin Templeton, this is the first state-backed, fiat-collateralized stablecoin, further cementing the chain’s role in government-tier operations.