Crypto Asset Manager Grayscale has introduced staking to its Exchange-Taded products (ETPS) and has become the first US-based Crypto Fund Issuer to offer opportunities for staking-based passive income.
Grayscale said on Monday it was the Ether (ETH) ETF-Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH) and the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE). It is the first US-listed spot crypto fund that now calls development “another first fateful milestone.”
Grayscale’s Solana (SOL) fund The Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) is also awaiting regulatory approval to enable staking and raise ETP.
Grayscale said it aims to expose investors to “the long-term value of these networks and maintain the core goals of the funds” by allowing them to dye Ethereum and Solana products.
“Staking funds for our spot Ethereum and Solana is exactly the kind of thing that first mover innovation greyscale was offered,” said Peter Mintzberg, CEO of Greyscale. “As AUM is number one ETF publisher focused on global digital assets, we believe our trustworthy scaled platform sets us on its own to change new opportunities that will plunge into concrete value possibilities for investors.”
Both ETHE and ETH are exchange-sold products registered under the Securities Act of 1933, and the latter is a regulatory framework used in traditional mutual funds, rather than the Investment Companies Act of 1940.
This differs structurally from ETFs compliant with the 1940 Act, but follows the same legal framework used for spot bitcoin (BTC) and etheric ETFs.
“ETHE and ETH hold digital assets. But investments in ETHE and ETH are not direct investments in digital assets,” Grayscale said.
Grayscale said it will develop interests through a diverse network of institutional custodians and validator providers, and that investors can access products through standard securities accounts.
Grayscale reported approximately $35 billion in managed assets as of September 30th.
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Crypto Industry awaits SEC approval to staking ETFs
The news will receive regulatory approval for the first US registered Ether staking ETF as the industry awaits the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to Markus Thielen, head of research at 10X Research, the approval of the first ether staking ETF could bring important new institutional capital to the crypto industry.
“This marks a monumental structural change in how institutional capital flows into Ethereum and unleashes a new era of harvest-driven participation,” Tieren told Cointelgraf.
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The development comes three months after the Rex-Soprey Solana Staking ETF debuted on the CBOE BZX Exchange, and recorded a trading volume of $33 million and an inflow of $12 million, according to the Cointelegraph, reported on July 3.
The Rex-Sosprey fund first launched the Solana Staking ETF under the Investment Companies Act of 1940. This allows Crypto ETFs to directly retain most of their spot assets and distribute staking rewards if applicable.
More broadly, US Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETP are approved under the 1940 Act through submission of exchange rules (rule 19b-4) and securities law registration. The SEC has recently allowed some crypto ETP real works and redraw.
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