Grayscale's Crypto Fund Gains Traction: SOL & XRP Demand Rises
Grayscale's Crypto Index Fund Attracts Investor Interest
Grayscale's crypto index fund is showing promising initial performance, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. This development coincides with growing institutional demand for Solana (SOL) and XRP, particularly as anticipation builds around potential spot crypto ETFs for these altcoins.
Strong Start for Grayscale's CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF
Balchunas noted on X that Grayscale’s CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF (based on an index holding BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and ADA) saw $22 million in inflows on its first day as an ETF. He described this as a “solid” start. REX-Osprey's Dogecoin and XRP ETFs also performed well, with $12 million and $15 million respectively.
While these figures trail the massive inflows seen by Bitcoin ETFs, they significantly surpass the average ETF launch, indicating a positive trend for the issuers.
Rising Institutional Appetite for SOL and XRP
Solana and XRP, prominent altcoins by market capitalization, are experiencing increased institutional interest as the market anticipates potential spot ETFs holding these assets. The CME Group's official trader community X account recently commented that SOL is “moving at a new speed.”
Specifically, SOL futures open interest (OI) exceeded $2.1 billion notional. According to CME Active Trader (@CMEActiveTrader), it’s the fastest of CME's futures products to double its OI since hitting $1 billion. It took just 18 trading days for SOL, compared to a month for BTC and three years for ETH.
Solana is moving at a new speed. SOL futures open interest (OI) exceeded $2.1B notional, the fastest of our futures to double its OI since hitting $1B.
A milestone that took BTC a month and ETH 3 years, SOL did in just 18 trading days. This momentum confirms the shift in demand…
— CME Active Trader (@CMEActiveTrader) September 19, 2025
The CME trader community suggests this indicates a broader shift in demand for crypto risk management tools beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. CME XRP futures also reached $1 billion OI last month, marking it as the fastest crypto contract to achieve that milestone.
CME Group and Coinbase Respond to Growing Demand
CME Group plans to launch options on SOL and XRP futures products on October 13. Furthermore, Coinbase has reported record demand for its SOL and XRP perpetual-style futures, recording $1.9 billion in notional volume and 1.6 million contracts traded in just one month.