Grayscale launches first staking spot crypto ETPs in US

Grayscale has announced that its exchange-traded funds Ethereum Mini Trust ETF ($ETH) and Ethereum Trust ETF ($ETHE) have become the first spot crypto exchange-traded products listed in the United States to enable staking.

The digital asset management firm also announced that its Solana Trust ($GSOL) has added staking, and if it gets regulatory approval it will become the first spot Solana ETP with staking.

Grayscale enables staking for Ethereum and Solana ETPs

Grayscale’s launch of staking for its Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products is a huge milestone for the US-listed spot crypto ETPs market.

Specifically, enabling staking allows  investors an opportunity to access ETH and SOL staking via traditional brokerage accounts.

This feature is live for both ETH and ETHE, but awaits the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval that uplist GSOL to an ETP.

When this happens, Grayscale’s rollout will see its GSOL launch as one of the first spot ETPs with staking. Currently,

GSOL is not an exchange-traded product and is quoted on OTC Markets Group.

What does this mean for investors?

Grayscale will tap into institutional custodians as well as a diversified network of validators to “stake passively.”

It’s a scenario that will not only help secure the underlying Ethereum and Solana networks, but also support the protocols’ long-term resilience. 

Other than the key protocol support features, Grayscale is committing to investor education.

Recently, the crypto asset manager published the ‘Staking 101: Secure the Blockchain, Earn Rewards’ report, which explains staking, how it works, why it’s a crucial component of proof-of-stake networks and how participants can tap into its benefits.

Solana ETPs attract investors

The rollout will expand to other spot crypto products as the ecosystem evolves.

Currently, the cryptocurrency market is extremely bullish on SEC’s approval of multiple crypto ETFs, including those for Solana. 

Grayscale’s launch of the staking feature for GSOL comes as the SOL ETP market witnesses a major uptick in inflows. 

A report by CoinShares shows that over the past week, digital asset investment products tied to Solana attracted over $750 million in inflows.

This followed inflows of $291 million the previous week and brings total year-to-date inflows into SOL products to more than $2.5 billion.

Assets under management stands at over $5.13 billion, the CoinShares report showed.