The debut of the first Solana staking ETF in the United States has made waves, closing its first trading day with $12 million in inflows — a promising milestone for staking-focused crypto funds.
The REX-Osprey Solana Staking ETF (ticker: SSK) officially began trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange on Wednesday. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the fund saw $33 million in volume on day one, with $12 million of that coming from net inflows — a solid indicator of early investor appetite.
This ETF stands out by offering direct exposure to Solana (SOL), including staking rewards, making it the first of its kind approved in the U.S. market. Bloomberg’s James Seyffart called the launch a “healthy start,” highlighting that $8 million in trades happened within the first 20 minutes.
While the volume trails the blockbuster launches of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs — which saw a combined $4.6 billion on day one back in January — it still outperformed prior futures-based Solana and XRP ETFs, Balchunas noted.
A Breakthrough for Staking ETFs
“This is a pivotal moment for digital asset investing,” said Anchorage Digital co-founder Nathan McCauley, whose company is handling staking and custody for the new fund. He emphasized that staking ETFs represent a significant expansion in access to crypto investing.
Navigating Regulatory Challenges
REX-Osprey faced initial regulatory resistance from the SEC, which raised concerns in May about whether the fund qualified as an “investment company” under securities law. The fund eventually cleared these hurdles by allocating at least 40% of its assets to other exchange-traded products (ETPs), mostly outside the U.S.
This creative structure helped the ETF avoid the SEC’s typical 19b-4 approval process — a workaround that some analysts, like Nate Geraci of NovaDius Wealth, have referred to as a “regulatory end-around.” While the product isn’t technically a “spot Solana ETF” in the traditional sense, it may signal what’s to come.
Spot Solana ETF on the Horizon?
The strong performance of the staking ETF is already fueling speculation about an upcoming wave of altcoin-based ETFs. Seyffart and Balchunas recently estimated a 95% chance that the SEC will approve spot Solana ETFs by the end of 2025, alongside potential products for XRP and Litecoin.
Just this week, the SEC approved Grayscale’s application to convert its Digital Large-Cap Fund into an ETF — one that includes the top five digital assets by market cap — adding further momentum to the trend.
Market Reaction: Modest for SOL, Big for CME Futures
While Solana’s price saw only modest movement after the ETF launch — up about 3.6% on the day and trading near $153 — interest in Solana’s CME futures surged. Open interest hit a record $167 million, according to SolanaFloor, suggesting a rise in institutional involvement despite the lukewarm price action.
Solana remains down roughly 48% from its highs in January, but the introduction of the staking ETF — and potentially more products to come — could reignite investor enthusiasm in the months ahead.
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