- Grayscale has announced a 0.35% management fee for its proposed Solana ETF, awaiting SEC approval to list on NYSE Arca.
- The ETF aims to offer staking-enabled exposure to Solana, facing stiff competition from Bitwise’s lower 0.20% fee offering.
Grayscale Investments, one of the world’s largest digital asset managers, has officially disclosed a 0.35% management fee for its proposed Solana Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) as it awaits a final decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The decision, expected today, could pave the way for Grayscale’s Solana ETF (GSOL) to list and trade on NYSE Arca.
As earlier reported by ETHNews, according to renowned bloomberg analyst, assigned a higher probability of 75%, citing regulatory shifts toward accommodating niche crypto assets. However, the process faces delays due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, temporarily stalling regulatory proceedings, according to renowned analyst and Co-founder at ETF Institute, Nate Geraci via an X post.
Looks like a prolonged government shutdown would definitely impact the launch of new spot crypto ETFs…
ETF Cryptober might be on hold for a bit.
From SEC's "Operations Plan Under a Lapse in Appropriations & Government Shutdown"… pic.twitter.com/Z6gY1bJbUt
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) October 1, 2025
According to a filing submitted to the SEC on October 9, Grayscale’s Solana Trust has updated its S-1 registration form to reflect the newly announced fee structure. The sponsor fee, payable in SOL tokens, represents a 0.35% annual rate. While the firm mentioned the possibility of a temporary waiver, it has confirmed no immediate plans to do so.
The updated filing also includes revised risk disclosures related to staking, a critical aspect of Solana’s network operations. Grayscale cautioned that “validators may suffer losses due to staking, or staking may prove unattractive to validators, which could adversely affect the Solana Network.”
Earlier this month, Grayscale activated staking on its Solana Trust product, granting investors exposure to SOL staking rewards through a traditional brokerage account. Once approved, the Grayscale Solana ETF is expected to become one of the first spot Solana exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the U.S. to incorporate staking.
The filing also reveals key partners in the ETF’s structure. Davis Polk & Wardwell will serve as tax counsel, while KPMG and Marcum have provided their accounting consents. Foreside Fund Services is listed as the marketing agent, Coinbase Custody will act as the primary custodian, and Anchorage Digital Bank will serve as an additional custodian.
Meanwhile, Grayscale faces stiff competition in the race to capture investor inflows in Solana-based ETFs. Bitwise, another leading crypto asset manager, recently set a new benchmark with its Bitwise Solana ETF (BSOL), offering a 0.20% fee, currently the lowest in the market.
Bitwise has also rebranded its fund as the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF and waived fees for the first three months or until assets under management reach $1 billion. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described Bitwise’s aggressive pricing as evidence that the firm is “not playing around” in the ETF fee war.
As of press time, Solana (SOL) trades at $222.10, down 2% in the past 24 hours, with trading volume climbing 5%, suggesting investors are seizing the dip ahead of potential ETF approval. The SEC’s decision on Grayscale’s GSOL could mark a pivotal moment for institutional exposure to Solana and further solidify its standing among the top-performing layer-1 blockchains.