In brief
- The Rex-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF generated $12 million in first-day inflows, a spokesperson for REX Shares and Osprey Funds said.
- With staking, the fund’s debut represents a new chapter for crypto in the U.S., according to Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley.
- The SEC is expected to approve other crypto-focused ETFs this year.
The first exchange-traded fund offering investors exposure to Solana in the U.S. generated $12 million worth of investments in its Wall Street debut on Wednesday, a REX Shares and Osprey Funds spokesperson told Decrypt
The Rex-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF, which also offers investors yield by staking at least half of the fund’s assets—another first for U.S. markets—registered $33.6 million in trading volume, per Nasdaq data.
“[The ETF’s] day 1 trading volume was 82% less than what one would’ve expected based on the SOL/BTC market caps,” Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon told Decrypt. “This lack of appetite shows institutional investors are still very early in their understanding of SOL.”
Solana was recently changing hands around $153, a 4.6% increase over the past 24 hours, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. The asset’s price has fallen 48% since it hit $293 in January, not long after the debut of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meme coin.
Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to approve several crypto-focused ETFs this year, Wednesday’s debut represents a new chapter “in the crypto ETF story,” Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said in a statement.
As the only U.S. federally chartered digital asset bank, Anchorage is safeguarding the ETF’s digital assets, while using its platform to stake the Solana. McCauley said that Anchorage’s innovation would hopefully translate to other products.
“The launch of crypto staking ETFs marks a win for consumers and a significant step forward in full access to the crypto ecosystem,” he said.
Anchorage began letting institutions stake Ethereum in the U.S. in 2022, not long before Ethereum transitioned to a proof-of-stake consensus model. In April, BlackRock tapped Anchorage as a custodian to safeguard some funds for its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Anchorage’s services mirror a regular bank, but it’s allowed to hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients. As far as crypto ETFs in the U.S. go, many asset managers have chosen Coinbase as a custodian, including Grayscale Investments and Bitwise.
Unlike spot crypto ETFs approved by the SEC last year, the Rex-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF is structured under the Investment Company Act. That distinction required a qualified custodian, like Anchorage, to hold the fund’s assets.
On Wednesday, the Rex-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF got off to a “healthy start,” Bloomberg ETF Analyst James Seyffart wrote on X, formerly Twitter, pointing to $8 million in trading volume that the fund notched in its first 20 minutes.
Edited by James Rubin
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