Grayscale debuts Solana staking ETF, as crypto firms push ahead despite government shutdown

Grayscale Investments is the latest firm to debut an exchange-traded fund tracking the price of Solana and including staking.

The Grayscale Solana Trust ETF, with the ticker symbol GSOL, will launch on NYSE Arca on Wednesday. The firm said it "is now among the largest Solana ETP managers in the U.S." by assets under management.

"Today’s GSOL launch underscores our conviction that the modern portfolio includes digital asset exposure for growth and diversification alongside equities, bonds, and alternatives," said Inkoo Kang, senior vice president of ETFs at Grayscale, in a statement.

Grayscale initially launched GSOL in 2021 and began staking this month. GSOL was a closed-end vehicle offering exposure through traditional brokerage accounts and has since been converted into an ETF. Solana is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to The Block's price page.

A day earlier, Bitwise launched its Solana ETF on the New York Stock Exchange. Canary also listed its Litecoin ETF and HBAR ETF on Nasdaq on Tuesday.

The firms launched those products despite the government entering its second month of being shut down after Congress failed to approve funding. That leaves the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees ETFs, with a skeleton crew and significantly limits what staff can work on, as many are furloughed.

A week after the government shutdown, however, the SEC released guidance clarifying procedures for firms seeking to go public. In it, the SEC said that if firms want to go public, they can file an S-1 registration statement without what's called a delaying amendment, according to a person familiar with the process. A delaying amendment means the ETF wouldn’t go into effect after 20 days, allowing the SEC time to work through comments.

As firms file their final S-1s, that means that within 20 days, they can go effective.

Ahead of the shutdown, the SEC also approved listing standards proposed by three exchanges, asking the agency to change a rule governing the trading and listing of commodity-based trust shares, which sets out specific requirements to have certain shares listed on their exchanges. The approval means dozens of crypto ETF applications could go live more quickly.

Firms looking to launch crypto ETFs without the SEC's sign-off need to meet the listing standard, a person familiar said earlier in the week.

Millions of investors can get exposure to Solana through SOL staking products like Grayscale's, said Kristin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute.

“Through staking in these products, investors aren't just gaining exposure – they also have the opportunity to help secure the network, accelerate innovation for developers, and earn rewards on one of the most dynamic assets in modern finance. Investors now have the opportunity to participate in Solana's future on their own terms," she said in a statement on Wednesday.