Osprey Readies SOL Fund as Solana Attracts Institutional Interest

Osprey appears to have beaten Grayscale in the race to get a Solana vehicle into the market.

AccessTimeIconAug 24, 2021 at 9:52 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 3:23 a.m. UTC

Osprey Funds has readied a private SOL fund for wealthy investors, signaling growing institutional interest in the Solana network’s booming native token.

The fund, called the Osprey Solana Trust, was registered with U.S. securities regulators Tuesday. It didn't have any sales as of press time and is open only to accredited investors, which means that retail traders are shut out for now.

  • What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
    00:57
    What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
  • What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
    04:20
    What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
  • Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
    02:02
    Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
  • Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
    00:53
    Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
  • That could change, though. Osprey is “seeking approval” for its Solana Trust to trade on the same over-the-counter marketplace that its bitcoin trust does, documents reviewed by CoinDesk show. 

    The trust appears to be the first private SOL investment vehicle in the U.S.

    It comes as a growing number of investors take interest in Solana, whose SOL token is up over 4,500% this year. It’s nearly doubled in value in the last week and now touts a market cap of over $20 billion.

    Osprey has been working on its own Solana trust since at least mid-June, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission records. Rival fund manager Grayscale also signaled in June that its own Solana fund was in the works. (Grayscale is owned by CoinDesk parent company Digital Currency Group.)

    Trust products such as Osprey’s give Wall Street types a way to gain exposure to crypto prices without directly holding the underlying tokens. Instead, they give their cash to an investment vehicle that does the buying and holding on their behalf – usually for a fee.

    Osprey won't begin charging a 2.5% management fee until 2023 in a sign of the competition for institutional crypto products, according to the documents reviewed by CoinDesk. Crypto exchange Coinbase is handling custodial duties, and Theorem Fund Services is the administrator.

    Osprey did not immediately return a comment to CoinDesk.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.