• Cryptopolitan
  • Posts
  • Solana’s First Staking ETF Pulls $33M on Day One

Solana’s First Staking ETF Pulls $33M on Day One

Regulated SOL + staking rewards go live — and institutions are buying. PLUS: Mastercard’s “zero-fee” crypto card, IBIT flips S&P 500 ETF, and Firefox wallet scams rise.

Author

Cryptopolitan News
July 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

📈 Solana’s first spot staking ETF closes $33M on day one

The REX-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF, which launched on Wednesday, became the first U.S. exchange-traded fund to offer direct exposure to SOL and its staking rewards. And the response was strong.

Within minutes of going live, the ETF traded over $8 million. By the day’s end, it had notched up $33 million in volume which is well above past futures-based launches for Solana or XRP.

Key figures from launch day:

  • $33M in trading volume

  • $1M in assets under management (AUM)

  • Anchorage Digital selected as custodian and staking provider

The fund was registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which adds a layer of investor protection not common in crypto markets. Anchorage, the only federally chartered crypto bank, will handle both custody and staking for the ETF.

Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley called the product a major step toward giving institutions regulated exposure to staking rewards—a space typically limited to crypto-native platforms.

Meanwhile, Grayscale faces fresh SEC pushback

Just a day before the Solana ETF went live, Grayscale received conditional approval to convert its Digital Large-Cap Fund into an ETF. The fund holds five major assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano (ADA).

But by Wednesday, the SEC said it would revisit that decision. In a letter to the NYSE, regulators announced a reexamination of the rule change that allowed the fund’s conversion, putting it in limbo again.

Grayscale has been here before. The firm won a court case in 2023 after the SEC blocked its attempt to convert the Bitcoin Trust into an ETF. That product, GBTC, now operates as an ETF with a 1.5% expense ratio and remains the highest-earning Bitcoin investment vehicle on the market.

The SEC’s hesitation suggests that while some crypto products are clearing hurdles, the broader path for multi-asset ETFs is still full of red tape.

The official memecoin of President Donald Trump, TRUMP, could soon have an exchange-traded fund (ETF) after investment firm Tuttle Capital filed a recent amendment. The filing seeks to change the effective date for the ETF to July 16.

📊 Market Watch:

Bitget Wallet and Mastercard just launched a new crypto card that lets users spend digital assets like USDC, Bitcoin, or Ethereum—at over 150 million merchants globally. Branded as “zero-fee,” it promises seamless payments without application or annual costs. But beneath the marketing shine, things get more complicated.

The card is currently live in the UK and EU, with plans to expand into Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. Once approved, users get a virtual card instantly—and a physical one on request—without needing a bank account or credit check.

The pitch? Frictionless crypto payments. The reality? Still full of hidden costs.

Here’s what you get:

  • No application or annual fees

  • 5% cashback in BGB tokens for the first 2,000 users

  • Instant spending with crypto directly from your wallet

  • Staking options for idle stablecoins like USDC

  • Gas fee subsidies via Bitget’s “GetGas” feature

But there’s a catch.

Even though Bitget and Mastercard market the product as “zero-fee,” users still face:

  • Exchange spreads: Crypto-to-fiat conversions may carry silent markups.

  • ATM charges: Local operators or Mastercard’s partners could apply withdrawal fees.

  • Network fees: If you use Ethereum during high congestion, expect to pay $10 or more per transaction once Bitget’s incentives expire.

And then there’s the issue of regulatory friction.

While MiCA is now in full effect across the EU (as of July 2025), the implications for crypto card issuers are still evolving. Stablecoin rules are stricter, requiring reserve disclosures and formal registration—something Bitget and its partners may soon need to prove compliance with. Outside the EU, things are even murkier, with fragmented KYC/AML rules and political risk in some regions.

The Bitget Wallet is non-custodial, meaning users control their keys—but that also means they bear the full risk of loss. If a cardholder forgets their seed phrase, gets phished, or runs into bugs, recovery isn’t guaranteed.

The bigger picture:

This isn’t just a product, it’s a data play. Mastercard gets insight into how and where crypto holders spend. Bitget locks users into its ecosystem with rewards and staking options. And users? They get convenience, but not full freedom.

If crypto cards are going to replace banks, they’ll need to offer more than perks and a sleek UI. Otherwise, we’re just rebuilding the same system, with a Web3 skin.

Researchers from the Koi security company discovered an ongoing campaign spreading malicious wallet extensions on Firefox. The malicious apps spoof the most widely used wallets, stealing private phrases and leaving users vulnerable to being drained.

💰 Deal Flow

Bitcoin wasn’t supposed to dethrone the S&P 500—at least not this soon. But as of July 1, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is officially generating more annual fee revenue than its flagship iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV).

Let that sink in:

  • IBIT (AUM: $75B) earns $187.2 million/year

  • IVV (AUM: $624B) earns $187.1 million/year

The difference? Fees. IBIT charges 0.25%, IVV charges just 0.03%. Despite being nearly 9x smaller, IBIT’s strong inflows over the past 18 months—especially from institutions have closed the gap and now pushed it ahead.

BlackRock didn’t comment, but the message is clear: investors are hungry for Bitcoin exposure, and they’re willing to pay for it.

One ETF to rule them all.

Since spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, IBIT has captured $52B of the $54B total ETF inflows across the category. That’s 55% market share, and it’s now among the top 20 most-traded ETFs overall.

Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group says this is about convenience, not hype. “People wanted Bitcoin in their portfolio without needing a new account.”

Even Nate Geraci of NovaDius Wealth Management agrees: “IBIT shows investors will pay more for access to assets they see as truly valuable.”

Meanwhile, BlackRock is quietly closing in on ETF dominance. It now handles 25% of ETF trading by dollar volume. Only State Street is ahead at 31%.

Bitcoin chills as the money pours in.

Despite the flood of capital, Bitcoin has been uncharacteristically quiet. For two months, it's been stuck between $93K and $111K, with Wednesday's price at $108,480, up 2.4%.

That calm is reflected in the Deribit BTC Volatility Index, now at its lowest in two years.

Why? Institutions are changing how Bitcoin is used. Covered call strategies, where traders write options on coins they already own are on the rise. It limits the upside but brings steady returns and less price chaos.

Glassnode data backs it up: fewer transactions, but higher average settlement value. That’s a sign of large players moving money while retail activity cools off.

As GSR’s Michael Longoria put it: “Bitcoin is becoming less speculative and more like a macro asset.”

And now, it's also becoming a bigger earner than the S&P 500.

Ethereum core developer Zak Cole has launched a new organization, the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF), with a bold mission: drive the price of Ether (ETH) to $10,000 and refocus the ecosystem’s attention on ETH as an asset.

Market-moving headlines 🔥

North Korean hackers have launched a sophisticated malware campaign targeting Web3 and cryptocurrency companies using NimDoor malware.

German Gref, CEO of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, is making headlines for expressing skepticism about the digital ruble during a financial forum in St. Petersburg on July 2, 2025.

Trump-related crypto ventures have reportedly added at least $620 million to his net worth in just a few months, powered by projects like World Liberty Financial and the Trump memecoin.

A group of prominent tech billionaires, including Palmer Luckey, Joe Lonsdale, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, is backing a new digital bank Erebor aimed at restoring a financial lifeline to early-stage tech firms after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in 2023.

July 3

🏛️ Bitcoin Cash’s Governance Rift Begins

On July 3, 2018, the Bitcoin Cash community split over how upgrades should be handled.

  • Bitcoin ABC (led by Amaury Séchet) pushed for a structured roadmap.

  • Others demanded miner-driven, decentralized decision-making.

This ideological clash laid the groundwork for the November 2018 fork that created Bitcoin SV, spotlighting the ongoing challenge of scaling decentralized governance.

Join the Conversation!

We'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Join our community and stay updated with the latest trends and discussions in crypto.

Twitter: @CPOfficialtx

Telegram Channel: @CryptopolitanOfficial