Bitwise's Solana ETF Rakes in $69.5M on First Day, Overshadowing Competitor Rex-Osprey

A Watershed Moment for Institutional Solana Access Begins with Bitwise Dominance

The institutional gateway for Solana (SOL) investment swung wide open on Tuesday, with Bitwise Asset Management’s spot Solana ETF (BSOL) commanding the market’s attention by raking in a monumental $69.5 million in debut inflows. This powerful start starkly overshadowed the competing Rex-Osprey Solana Staking ETF (SSK), which attracted $12 million on its first day, according to data from Farside. The divergent investor interest provides an immediate, data-driven glimpse into how the market is evaluating two fundamentally different approaches to offering staking yield within an ETF wrapper. Despite the strong ETF demand, Solana's native token faced headwinds, declining 3.1% on the day to trade at $194, as tracked by CoinGecko.

Bitwise BSOL vs. Rex-Osprey SSK: A Tale of Two ETF Structures

The first-day inflow figures tell a clear story of initial investor preference, heavily favoring the Bitwise Solana Fund BSOL. The nearly six-to-one ratio of inflows highlights that investors are making a distinct choice between the two newly available products. This choice is not based on the underlying asset alone but on the critical differences in fund structure, staking methodology, and cost.

Bitwise’s BSOL offers direct spot Solana exposure, with a key feature being that all assets are staked in-house. According to its Monday announcement, this approach aims to pass along the network's full staking yield—approximately 7%—directly to investors. It launched on the New York Stock Exchange with a highly competitive 0.20% management fee, which is being waived for the first three months.

In contrast, the Rex-Osprey SSK fund provides a more diversified and indirect exposure model. According to its official website, about 54% of SSK’s portfolio is allocated to direct Solana holdings. The remaining exposure is achieved through a 43.5% allocation to the CoinShares Physical Staked Solana ETP listed in Switzerland, with the remainder in JitoSOL, short-term government obligations, and cash or other assets. Its staking rewards are distributed monthly and are currently classified as a return of capital for tax purposes. SSK carries a total expense ratio of 0.75% and trades on the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

The Fee and Staking Yield Battle: A Key Differentiator for Investors

The significant disparity in management fees is undoubtedly a major factor in the early inflow race. Bitwise’s aggressive 0.20% fee for BSOL positions it as a low-cost leader, directly challenging Rex-Osprey’s SSK, which has a total expense ratio of 0.75%. For yield-seeking investors, a lower management fee means a higher net return after costs, making BSOL’s structure inherently more efficient from an expense perspective.

Furthermore, the staking approach itself is a point of differentiation. Bitwise’s promise of "full staking yield" through direct, in-house staking presents a straightforward value proposition. Investors gain pure exposure to SOL and its native staking rewards. The Rex-Osprey model, by incorporating a significant portion of exposure via another ETP (the CoinShares product), adds a layer of complexity. While diversification can be a risk-management tool, the market's initial reaction suggests a preference for the simpler, more direct route to Solana's staking economics offered by Bitwise.

Industry Voices Hail a "Watershed Moment" for Solana

The launch of these ETFs has been met with significant optimism from industry leaders who see it as a foundational shift for Solana’s place in the broader financial landscape. Kyle Samani, managing partner at investment firm Multicoin Capital, called the event “Truly a watershed moment.”

“All of this changes today,” Samani added in a tweet, highlighting the critical barrier that has been removed. “The substantial majority of capital in the world was legally not allowed to trade or own Solana... until today.”

This sentiment was echoed by Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Invest, who expressed strong confidence in his firm's product prior to launch. “I have a feeling the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, BSOL, is gonna be huge,” Hougan tweeted on Tuesday. “Institutional investors love ETFs, and they love revenue. Solana has the most revenue of any blockchain. Therefore, institutional investors love Solana ETFs.”

The Broader ETF Landscape and Market Sentiment

The arrival of Bitwise and Rex-Osprey is just the beginning of a new wave of institutional Solana products. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that Grayscale’s GSOL spot ETF has also received approval and is scheduled to begin trading on Wednesday. This will introduce a third major competitor into the mix, potentially splitting inflows further and offering investors another set of structural and fee-based considerations.

Despite the bullish narrative around institutional access, market sentiment on Solana's price trajectory remains cautious in the short term. Users of the predictions market Myriad, owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, see only a 32.7% chance of Solana hitting a new all-time high this year. This tempered outlook was reflected in SOL's price action on Tuesday, which saw a 3.1% drop to $194 amid a broader market pullback that included Bitcoin falling 3.2% from its Tuesday high of $116,000.

Strategic Conclusion: A New Chapter for Institutional Crypto Adoption

The successful debut of Bitwise's BSOL ETF, marked by its commanding $69.5 million first-day inflow, signals a significant milestone. It demonstrates robust initial demand for regulated, yield-bearing exposure to Solana and establishes an early leader in what is poised to become a competitive market segment. The stark contrast with Rex-Osprey's SSK underscores that for institutional and retail investors alike, the details matter immensely—structure, fees, and staking mechanics are not secondary features but primary drivers of capital allocation.

For readers and market participants, the immediate focus should be on tracking sustained flows into these ETFs beyond their debut days and monitoring the performance of Grayscale’s GSOL as it enters the fray. The evolution of assets under management for BSOL and SSK will provide ongoing insight into whether the market continues to favor Bitwise’s direct model or if other strategies find their niche. Furthermore, observing how these ETFs influence Solana's network metrics—such as staking participation and overall liquidity—will be crucial for understanding their long-term impact on the ecosystem itself. This is not merely the launch of new financial products; it is the opening of a new chapter in Solana's journey toward mainstream financial integration.