GSR's new ETF proposal eyes digital asset treasuries amid growing popularity

Crypto market maker GSR is expanding into the digital asset treasuries space with a new proposal submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, providing exposure to companies that hold cryptocurrencies in their corporate treasuries.

In its filing with the SEC on Wednesday, GSR outlined plans for a GSR Digital Asset Treasury Companies ETF, along with other fund proposals that track different components of Ethereum, including staking and yield.

"The Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies that hold digital assets in their corporate treasury ('Digital Asset Treasury Companies'), as defined by the Adviser," according to the filing.

This move comes amid surging interest in DATs, which have skyrocketed over the past year, bringing in $20 billion in venture capital funding so far. Companies have been following firms such as Strategy over the past year in holding a variety of cryptocurrencies, from bitcoin to XRP to Solana, on their balance sheets. Now, some investors have told The Block that the wave of DAT rounds has peaked, with amounts raised set to be smaller.

Meanwhile, the SEC is sitting on dozens of crypto ETF proposals, including ones that track SOL, DOGE, and XRP, that are likely to get approved imminently. Last week, the SEC approved a multi-crypto fund ETF from Grayscale and also greenlit a listing standard, which is expected to fast-track the process for lots of different proposed crypto ETFs.