Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF Could Change How Institutions Invest in Crypto

Solana staking ETFs are capturing institutional attention, with Bitwise’s new Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) posting over $56 million in trading volume on its first day at the New York Stock Exchange.

The launch represents a significant milestone for crypto-linked exchange-traded products, offering investors a unique combination of yield generation and traditional brokerage accessibility.

According to Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer, staking ETFs address a missing piece of the investment puzzle. Before these products existed, investors seeking yield from Solana had to stake tokens directly – a process often complex and inaccessible for institutional participants. With BSOL, Hougan explains, investors get the benefits of a standard ETF – low costs, professional custody, and simple brokerage integration – while also earning staking rewards automatically.

“Investors now receive not only the returns from Solana itself but also roughly 7% additional Solana per year, which functions similarly to a dividend in traditional finance,” Hougan said. The ETF’s launch involved $222 million in assets, representing over 1.1 million SOL tokens, and Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas noted it achieved the largest trading volume of any ETF debut in 2025.

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The regulatory environment in the U.S. was crucial to making staking ETFs possible. Hougan emphasized that under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, even standard Ethereum ETFs faced long delays, and staking functionality would have been “unthinkable.” Recent shifts in regulatory attitudes, however, cleared the way for more sophisticated proof-of-stake products.

The debut of BSOL, along with Grayscale’s Solana Trust ETF (GSOL), is seen as a proof-of-concept for staking-focused ETFs, potentially paving the way for other TradFi products that integrate proof-of-stake protocols. Hougan predicts that staking ETFs could soon become a primary method for investing in Solana globally, combining convenience, yield, and network support in one product.