Key Takeaways:
Bitwise, with $9 billion in client assets, partners with Superstate to develop tokenized shares for its Solana Staking ETF (NYSE: BSOL).
"Tokenization would change only the form in which share ownership is recorded," Bitwise said in a statement. Investors would continue to purchase the same shares through the same channels as today.
Shareholders could elect to hold shares either in traditional book-entry form through The Depository Trust Company or in tokenized form recorded on a blockchain and maintained through Superstate's SEC-registered transfer agency infrastructure. Tokenized shares carry rights identical to book-entry shares and would not be freely transferable outside that recordkeeping system.
The availability of tokenized shares remains subject to legal and regulatory requirements, with no assurance on timing. The partnership could make Bitwise and Superstate early movers in ETF tokenization, potentially pressuring other issuers to explore similar onchain securities infrastructure.
Superstate operates two platforms: Opening Bell for tokenized equity and FundOS for asset managers launching tokenized funds. Its flagship funds — USTB, now the Invesco Short Duration US Government Securities Fund, and USCC, now the Bitwise Crypto Carry Fund — validated the infrastructure at institutional scale before transitioning to leading asset managers.
Bitwise offers more than 70 investment products spanning ETFs, separately managed accounts, private funds, DeFi strategies, and staking. The firm serves more than 5,500 private wealth teams, registered investment advisors, family offices, and institutional investors, as well as 21 banks and broker-dealers.
The move comes as asset managers increasingly explore tokenization to modernize fund infrastructure. If approved, BSOL would become one of the first US-listed ETFs with a tokenized share option, a development that could reshape how crypto ETFs are held and traded. The framework also opens the door for other Bitwise funds to follow, with the firm stating that additional ETFs may adopt tokenized share options as the infrastructure matures.
For Solana holders, the tokenized share option could provide a bridge between the staking rewards of the underlying asset and the regulatory wrapper of a US-listed ETF. BSOL currently trades on the NYSE and offers exposure to SOL with staking yields, making it one of the more actively traded crypto ETPs in the US market. The tokenization framework does not change the fund's investment strategy or staking program, which remains subject to the same risks as the underlying Solana market.
Other asset managers have been testing tokenized fund structures, with firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton launching tokenized money market funds on Ethereum. The Bitwise-Superstate partnership extends this trend to crypto ETFs, potentially accelerating the convergence of traditional fund infrastructure with blockchain rails. The partnership also raises questions about how tokenized ETF shares would interact with existing market infrastructure, including DTCC settlement and custody arrangements, which could take time to resolve.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
