Grayscale Breaks New Ground With First-Ever U.S. Spot Staking…

Grayscale is once again pushing the boundaries of traditional finance and crypto integration.

The firm has officially launched the first-ever U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded products (ETPs) to enable staking for Ethereum ($ETH) and Solana ($SOL), marking a historic moment for the industry.

According to the official announcement from @Grayscale, both Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (Ticker: $ETH) and Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (Ticker: $ETHE) are now live with staking capabilities, allowing investors to earn rewards directly through regulated, spot-backed investment products.

Ethereum and Solana Enter a New Era of Onchain Yield Access

For the first time, U.S. investors can now gain exposure to staking rewards, a feature long limited to onchain participants, without leaving traditional financial infrastructure.

With the launch of Grayscale’s spot Ethereum ETPs, investors can participate in Ethereum’s consensus layer through a product listed on regulated exchanges.

Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust ETF ($ETH) and Ethereum Trust ETF ($ETHE) are designed to track the spot price of ETH while distributing staking yield generated from the underlying assets.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Ethereum ($ETH) is trading around $4696, up 4% in the last 24 hours, with a market cap of over $567 billion.

Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) Activates Staking

In parallel, Grayscale’s Solana Trust (OTCQX: $GSOL) has also enabled staking. This marks another major step forward for institutional access to Solana’s network economy.

Pending regulatory approval for its uplisting to an ETP, GSOL could become one of the first-ever spot Solana ETPs to offer staking rewards.

This would allow investors to gain passive income exposure from Solana’s proof-of-stake network, without directly managing private keys or tokens.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows Solana ($SOL) trading at $236.28, up 3% over the past day, making it one of the market’s top-performing assets as investor interest continues to grow.

Why This Matters: Traditional Meets Onchain

By introducing staking to spot-backed ETPs, Grayscale bridges two previously separate worlds, traditional finance and decentralized onchain yield.

Investors can now hold regulated, custodial shares that not only track crypto prices but also earn staking rewards, creating a hybrid investment model that merges passive yield with spot exposure.

Grayscale’s CEO said this innovation gives investors a more complete Ethereum and Solana experience, capturing both price appreciation and network participation.

The move underscores a growing trend: institutional investors want access to blockchain yield without operational complexity.

A First for the U.S. Market

This milestone cements Grayscale’s position as an innovation leader among crypto asset managers.

While several global issuers have launched staking-enabled products in Europe, this is the first time U.S.-listed ETPs have integrated staking directly into spot-backed offerings.

It’s a regulatory breakthrough that could pave the way for other asset managers, including firms like BlackRock or Fidelity, to explore similar integrations across Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum-based instruments.

What Staking Means for Investors

With Grayscale’s ETPs, investors don’t have to move their assets onchain or interact with validators. Instead, staking is handled natively within the product’s infrastructure, with rewards reflected in the value of the fund.

For example:

•  Investors in Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF ($ETH) will now indirectly earn staking rewards as part of fund operations.
•  Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF ($ETHE) follows the same mechanism, offering onchain yield exposure under regulated conditions.
•  Once approved, Grayscale Solana Trust ($GSOL) will offer similar benefits for Solana investors.

This design introduces yield-driven performance to products that previously offered only price-tracking exposure.

ETH and SOL Price Action Reflects Renewed Confidence

Market sentiment quickly turned positive following the announcement.

Ethereum’s price held steady above $4,000, maintaining its weekly momentum after reclaiming key technical support levels. Solana, meanwhile, continues to outperform, now holding above $200, fueled by rising DeFi activity and growing institutional interest.

Analysts believe Grayscale’s staking integration could trigger a new wave of institutional inflows into both networks. The addition of staking yield may appeal to traditional investors seeking income-generating digital assets.

The Broader Industry Impact

Grayscale’s move may set a precedent for other U.S. crypto funds. By combining staking with spot exposure, the firm has created a model that could reshape how digital assets are packaged and distributed in traditional markets.

Until now, staking yields were largely inaccessible to ETF investors. But with Grayscale’s structure, regulators have a working example of how staking rewards can coexist within SEC-compliant frameworks.

This could open the door for:

•  Bitcoin yield-based products (via ordinals or layer-2 rewards)
•  Multi-chain staking ETPs
•  Institutional DeFi yield aggregators

The ripple effect may redefine how digital assets are integrated into mainstream portfolios.

Bringing Onchain Yield to Wall Street

The timing of this development is critical. As the next bull cycle gains traction, the demand for yield-bearing assets is growing. Grayscale’s staking-enabled ETPs give investors exposure not just to crypto price movements, but to the economic activity of the networks themselves.

By holding these products, investors indirectly participate in securing the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, earning rewards for doing so, all through traditional investment channels.

This marks a major psychological and structural shift in how Wall Street views crypto utility.

Further Considerations

Pending regulatory approval for GSOL’s uplisting, Solana could soon join Ethereum as a fully recognized staking-enabled ETP in the U.S. market.

If successful, it would mark the first time two major proof-of-stake assets are fully represented through regulated, yield-generating instruments.

Grayscale’s expansion also signals a new phase for crypto ETFs, one where tokens are not just assets to hold, but networks to participate in.

With Ethereum and Solana staking now integrated into U.S.-listed ETPs, Grayscale has set a new standard for digital asset management.

This milestone proves that onchain yield and traditional finance can coexist, offering investors the best of both worlds, regulatory clarity and decentralized participation.

As Ethereum and Solana continue to grow, these new staking-enabled ETPs could become the blueprint for the next generation of digital asset investment products.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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