Bitwise Solana Staking ETF Shatters Expectations With $55M Debut - 2025’s Hottest Crypto Launch

Wall Street just got a crypto wake-up call.

The Staking Revolution Arrives

Bitwise's new Solana ETF didn't just launch—it exploded onto the scene with $55 million in first-day trades, instantly becoming 2025's most talked-about financial product. Forget cautious institutional adoption—this is institutional FOMO in action.

Why TradFi Can't Look Away

Traditional finance veterans who dismissed crypto as a passing fad are now scrambling to understand staking yields while their 0.5% treasury bonds collect dust. The ETF's massive debut proves what crypto natives knew all along: yield-seeking capital always finds its way to superior technology.

Wall Street's latest 'innovation'? Finally realizing that blockchain networks actually produce something more valuable than PowerPoint presentations about blockchain potential.

TLDR

• Bitwise Solana ETF launched with $55.4M trading volume, the top crypto ETF debut of 2025.
• BSOL exceeded analyst Eric Balchunas’ estimate of $52M in first-day trading.
• BSOL attracted $223M in assets under management before its official launch.
• Competing ETFs HBR and LTCC saw lower volumes of $8M and $1M on debut day.

The Bitwise solana Staking ETF (BSOL) opened with $55.4 million in trading volume on its first day, making it the most traded crypto ETF debut of 2025. The launch outpaced early estimates and came as part of a wave of new altcoin ETFs. BSOL also attracted over $220 million in assets before trading began, pointing to rising institutional interest in staking-based investment products.

BSOL Leads 2025 Crypto ETF Launches

Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF launched on Tuesday with $55.4 million in trading volume, the highest for any crypto ETF debut this year. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas confirmed that BSOL topped all other ETF launches in 2025, including similar altcoin products introduced during the same period.

Balchunas had earlier projected a debut volume of $52 million for BSOL. The ETF exceeded this estimate, indicating growing activity around staking-based crypto funds. Bitwise revealed that BSOL had already attracted around $223 million in assets under management before the launch.

The ETF focuses on providing investors with exposure to Solana and its staking rewards. This means investors can access staking returns without managing the technical process of staking directly.

Competing ETFs See Lower Debut Volumes

Two other altcoin ETFs from Canary Capital also began trading on the same day as BSOL. These were the Hedera ETF (HBR) and the Litecoin ETF (LTCC). The HBR ETF saw $8 million in trading volume, while the LTCC ETF recorded $1 million on its first day.

Balchunas had predicted $8 million for HBR, which the fund met. However, the Litecoin ETF fell short of his estimate of $7 million. These lower volumes reflect the relatively lower demand for ETFs linked to Hedera and Litecoin compared to Solana.

Despite the smaller volumes, the launch of three altcoin ETFs on the same day points to continued expansion in crypto-based financial products.

Comparison with Ether ETF Launches

Though BSOL led 2025’s crypto ETF debuts, its trading volume was far below the figures seen during the July 2024 launch of spot Ether ETFs. On their first day, the nine spot Ether ETFs recorded a combined trading volume of $1.08 billion.

Of that total, $458 million came from outflows as the Grayscale ethereum Trust converted into an ETF. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF alone pulled in $248.7 million in volume. Bitwise’s own Ether ETF product had $94.3 million in volume during its debut.

These numbers reflect the much larger scale of investor interest in Ethereum compared to other altcoins, even those offering staking exposure.

Institutional Interest in Staking Products Grows

BSOL’s pre-launch asset pool of $223 million suggests rising interest from institutional investors in staking-related crypto ETFs. This type of product offers exposure to staking rewards without requiring investors to stake assets directly or handle custody.

The ETF tracks Solana, a blockchain network known for high-speed transactions and a growing decentralized finance ecosystem. BSOL’s performance on day one could signal more developments in staking-based ETFs in the coming months.

Eric Balchunas called the fund’s debut “strong” and noted that the interest exceeded expectations. While it was not at the level of the Ether ETFs, BSOL remains the best-performing altcoin ETF debut in 2025 to date.