The first Solana stake-based ETF is listed, starting the summer frenzy of digital coin ETFs.

Author: Second Home Researcher, Source: Futou Niuniu

The United States is about to welcome its first cryptocurrency ETF that allows investors to earn additional returns through staking.

The REX-Osprey Sol + Staking ETF (SSK) has received regulatory approval and is scheduled to officially launch trading on Wednesday, which is considered a significant breakthrough following the Trump administration's relaxation of digital asset regulations.

The biggest feature of this ETF is the "staking" function. Staking can be simply understood as: you lend your Solana tokens to the blockchain network to help verify transactions, and the network will pay you a "salary" as a reward. It's similar to putting money in a bank and earning interest.

The price of Solana rose by 6% to around $158 after the ETF news was announced, and as of the time of writing, it is reported at $155. Over the past seven days, Solana has increased by more than 12%, but the price is still 46% lower than its historical high in January. Currently, Solana's market capitalization is $83.5 billion, ranking sixth among cryptocurrencies.

Analysts expect that the approval of SSK will initiate a "summer frenzy of altcoin ETFs," with multiple cryptocurrency ETF products likely to be approved in the coming months.

The First Cryptocurrency ETF That Can "Generate Interest"

Currently, the available Solana-related ETFs on the market include Volatility Shares' SOLZ and the leveraged product SOLT, but they are all futures products and cannot provide staking rewards.

SSK, as the first Solana spot ETF, will provide investors with a way to participate in cryptocurrency staking through the ETF for the first time.

Previous crypto ETFs simply held digital assets, while SSK will use part of the funds for staking on Solana network validation nodes, thereby earning additional reward income.

"Staking" can be understood as a "fixed deposit" in the crypto world. In the Solana network, stakers help maintain network security by verifying transactions and receive newly issued SOL token rewards in return. This means that even if the price of SOL remains stagnant, investors can earn a passive income through staking, and if SOL declines, they can hedge against some losses.

To meet the regulatory requirements of the SEC, the fund adopts a unique investment structure, investing at least 40% of its assets in other ETFs and exchange-traded products, with most of the underlying assets coming from compliant products outside the United States, primarily tracking Solana and products related to staking Solana. This design both satisfies the regulatory requirement that "investment companies must primarily invest in securities" and maintains direct exposure to Solana.

The fee rate for SSK is 0.75%.

"Is the "Shanzhai Coin ETF Summer Craze" Coming Soon?

Strahinja Savic, Head of Data Analysis at FRNT Financial, stated: "Allowing ETFs that offer staking yields is a further step in the integration of public markets and the crypto economy. This once again indicates that the Trump administration is opening the door for cryptocurrencies to become part of the U.S. economy through public markets."

Industry analysts are quite optimistic about the subsequent developments. Nate Geraci, the president of ETF Store, stated: "This marks the unofficial start of the 'crypto ETF summer.' I expect this to be the first of a wave of crypto ETF issuances in the coming months. This also indicates that the staking feature for the spot Ethereum ETF may soon be approved as well."

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out in June that several such funds are likely to receive approval in July, with Solana possibly "leading" the way.

Currently, several fund issuers, including Grayscale and Bitwise, have applied to the SEC to launch ETFs that track cryptocurrency portfolios, aiming to provide broad market exposure. The SEC must make a decision by July 2, and Bloomberg analysts give a 90% approval probability.