Bitwise Asset Management’s recently launched Solana Spot ETF is seeing strong investor appetite, seeing $69.5 million in inflows on its first day of trading.
Key points to remember:
- Bitwise’s Solana ETF saw $69.5 million in first-day inflows, nearly six times higher than rival SSK’s $12 million debut.
- Institutions are showing renewed interest in Solana, marking what industry executives are calling a “watershed moment” for the asset.
- Bitwise’s spot-based structure and staking yield give it an early advantage as competitors like Grayscale’s SSK and GSOL enter the race.
That figure is nearly six times the $12 million of its closest competitor, the Rex-Osprey Solana Staking ETF (SSK), according to Farside data.
Bitwise Solana ETF marks ‘watershed moment’ as institutions enter SOL market
The Bitwise Solana Fund (BSOL) is now the clear favorite among institutional and retail investors considering Solana-based exposure.
“Truly a watershed moment,” said Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital, noting that “the vast majority of capital in the world was legally prohibited from trading or owning Solana until today.”
The two ETFs represent divergent strategies for exposure to Solana. Bitwise’s BSOL offers a fully spot-based structure, directly staking all internally held SOL tokens to pass the full return of Solana’s network, approximately 7% per year, to investors.
The fund is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and has a modest management fee of 0.20%, which Bitwise has waived for the first three months.
In contrast, SSK takes a diversified approach. About 54% of its portfolio is held in direct Solana, 43.5% in the Swiss-listed CoinShares Physical Staked Solana ETP and the rest in JitoSOL, short-term government securities and cash.
Its staking rewards are paid monthly and classified as a return of capital for tax purposes. SSK trades on the Chicago Board Options Exchange with an expense ratio of 0.75%.
Analysts say BSOL’s early rise reflects institutional enthusiasm for Solana as a high-throughput blockchain with growing on-chain revenue.
“Institutional investors love ETFs and income,” said Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise. “Solana has the most revenue of any blockchain. Therefore, institutional investors love Solana ETFs.”
Grayscale’s own Solana ETF, GSOL, is also set to begin trading on Wednesday, joining the race to capture institutional demand for Solana exposure.
Despite the positive sentiment around the launches, traders remain cautious. The Myriad prediction market currently gives Solana just a 32.7% chance of hitting a new all-time high this year.
On Wednesday, Solana (SOL) was down 3.1% over 24 hours, trading at $194, while Bitcoin fell 3.2% from Tuesday’s high of $116,000, per CoinGecko.
Western Union to launch dollar-backed stablecoin on Solana
As reported, Western Union plans to launch the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) on the Solana blockchain in the first half of 2026.
The token, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, will allow users to transfer money globally with lower fees and faster settlement times, reducing reliance on traditional banking intermediaries and volatile currency conversions.
CEO Devin McGranahan described the move as a continuation of Western Union’s 175-year mission to simplify money transfers, this time through blockchain technology.
He said Solana was chosen for its speed, scalability and low-cost transactions, which are crucial to the company’s high-volume remittance business.
By leveraging blockchain rails, Western Union aims to make remittances almost instantaneous and more transparent.
If widely adopted, USDPT could drive stablecoin usage beyond crypto trading and into everyday payments, bill paying, and cross-border commerce, marking a crucial step toward widespread adoption of the digital dollar.
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