The introduction of Solana staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has sparked renewed enthusiasm in the crypto investment landscape, following a record-breaking launch by Bitwise Asset Management. The Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, witnessed trading volumes exceeding $56 million on its first day, the largest ETF debut of 2025, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer, Matt Hougan, described the product as “the missing part of the puzzle” in a discussion with Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction show. He highlighted that institutional and retail investors had long been waiting for a vehicle that combined both secure custody and staking yield, allowing them to benefit from Solana’s returns without the technical complexity of direct staking.
Staking ETFs Offer Dual Benefits for Investors
Hougan explained that, unlike conventional crypto ETFs such as those tracking Bitcoin or Ethereum, Solana’s staking-based ETFs deliver twofold returns. Investors not only gain exposure to Solana’s price appreciation but also earn staking rewards, approximately 7% in additional SOL annually, similar to a dividend in traditional finance.
“As an investor in something like $BSOL, not only are you getting the returns of Solana, but every year you get somewhere around 7% of additional Solana on top of that. For a TradFi investor, it’s a little bit like a dividend in an oversimplified sense,” Hougan noted.
The ETF offers a simplified, regulated pathway for traditional investors to access yield-bearing digital assets. It also ensures institutional-grade custody, transparency and regulatory oversight, key factors that many traditional finance (TradFi) investors demand before allocating capital to crypto assets.
Bridging the Gap Between TradFi and DeFi
Hougan emphasised that Solana staking ETFs represent a critical step in bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralised finance (DeFi). He noted that, prior to this innovation, investors had to choose between ease of access (via non-staking ETFs) and higher returns (via direct staking on-chain). The BSOL ETF now enables both.
“Once you put it into an ETF, you get all the great things about an ETF, extremely low costs, institutional custody, and brokerage convenience and you get that staking done for you,” Hougan explained. “I think it’s going to become one of the primary ways that people invest in Solana globally.”
In addition to investor convenience, staking ETFs also contribute to the security and decentralisation of the Solana network. With over 1.1 million SOL tokens staked through BSOL, amounting to roughly $222 million in assets, the ETF is already strengthening network resilience while broadening participation in staking.
Regulatory Shifts Pave the Way for Innovation
The successful launch of Solana staking ETFs marks a significant turning point in U.S. regulatory attitudes toward crypto investment products. Hougan attributed this progress to a regulatory U-turn that took place after years of restrictive policies under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
During Gensler’s tenure, even non-staking ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum faced multi-year delays and intense scrutiny. Hougan remarked that launching a Solana-based ETF, particularly one involving staking, would have been “impossible” under previous conditions.
“Even just Solana unstaked was impossible. We barely got Ethereum through the Gary Gensler pinhole. There was no way you were going to get anything else through that pinhole and then to add staking on top of it, staking is more complex,” he said.
The approval of staking ETFs signals a broader regulatory acceptance of proof-of-stake (PoS) networks and yield-generating crypto instruments. Hougan believes that the BSOL and Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) launches will serve as a proof-of-concept for a new generation of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the U.S.
A New Era for Crypto Investment Products
The debut of the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF underscores a pivotal evolution in how investors can access and earn from digital assets. It provides exposure, yield and regulatory safety, a trifecta long sought after in the crypto market.
As institutional investors increasingly seek ways to blend yield generation with regulatory compliance, products like BSOL could set the standard for the next phase of crypto ETF innovation.
“Not only have we done it now, but this also opens the door for a variety of other ETPs to launch that have staking as well,” Hougan concluded. “This is a major proof-of-concept in the history of crypto ETPs in the U.S.”
With record-breaking volumes and institutional enthusiasm already evident, Solana staking ETFs may well redefine how traditional investors engage with the digital asset economy, combining the best of both worlds: the efficiency of TradFi and the innovation of DeFi.
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