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Today's News Recap
Risk Rally - Bitcoin zooms to $120K, ETH nears $4K as Trump’s EU tariff deal lifts risk sentiment.
Altcoin Surge - Altcoins AVAX, OP, and WLD climb as BNB sets new all-time high.
Yuan Strategy - China turns to Yuan-pegged stablecoins to take on dollar after long CBDC struggle.
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Messari Protocol Reporting
Messari's protocol reports give you a deep dive on the foundation and state of top crypto protocols, including key metrics and notable events. See the complete list of protocol reports here and get a preview of our latest report below.
Three primary chains—P-Chain (staking/governance), X-Chain (asset transfers), and C-Chain (EVM-compatible smart contracts)
Avalanche consensus, a unique PoS-based protocol using randomized sub-sampled voting to reach fast finality
AVAX has a fixed supply cap of 720 million, with all transaction fees burned
Avalanche enables bespoke execution via VMs (e.g. EVM, Subnet-EVM, WASM) across its expanding network of L1s
Market cap rose 17% QoQ to $26.5B; protocol revenue grew 20.5% QoQ to $915.9M
USDT makes up 99.2% of TRON’s stablecoin supply, with $80.3B in circulation on TRON (over 50% of global USDT)
Average daily transactions hit 8.6M (+12.6% QoQ); daily active addresses reached 2.5M
New integrations with Stripe-acquired Bridge, AEON Pay, SRM Entertainment, Privy, and others
Substrate-based layer-1 for DePIN, machine DeFi, and DePAI applications
3.5% disinflationary model; PEAQ used for fees, staking, and governance
Daily active addresses rose 10.5% QoQ
MachineX DEX, native stablecoin (upcoming), DePIN launchpad, staking tools
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Two Bits
SOL Staking ETF: (almost) 1 month Check-In
By: Austin Weiler, Protocol Research Analyst
SSK’s Performance: Inflows, Outflows, and Traction
It’s been just under a month since the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF (SSK) launched U.S. exchanges on July 2. If you blinked, you might have missed one of the fastest asset-gathering streaks in recent ETF memory, as it's drawn both institutional and retail attention.
As of July 25, SSK reached $120.2 million of net inflows and has recorded only one day of net outflows (July 10). That kind of consistency is rare, especially compared to ETH ETFs, which had nine days of net outflows in the same time frame (first 17 trading days), albeit this was skewed by the Grayscale ETF’s (ETHE) poor performance. SSK’s early traction speaks to a specific kind of TradFi demand: access to staking yield, minus the headaches of custody, delegation, or validator risk.
What sets SSK apart? Unlike traditional spot ETFs, SSK holds actual SOL tokens and stakes them onchain, delivering holders not just price appreciation but also Solana’s native staking yield (currently ~7.3%). Most of the fund’s assets are in directly staked SOL, with a portion in liquid staking tokens like JitoSOL. These rewards are distributed to investors as dividends. While SSK is the first staking-enabled crypto ETF in the U.S., there is precedent abroad as Canada’s 3iQ Ether Staking ETF (TSX: ETHQ.U) offers similar exposure by providing yield from staked ETH.
Eyes Forward: Spot SOL ETF Approval
SSK won’t be alone for long. The SEC is reviewing multiple spot Solana ETF applications, with at least one approval probable by October, if not sooner. Unlike SSK, these ETFs won’t stake SOL or distribute rewards, their NAV will track SOL’s price alone, meaning total returns will lag SSK.
Still, spot ETFs may draw significant TradFi interest. They avoid smart contract and validator risks, offer cleaner tax and fee structures, and align better with traditional mandates. For institutions bound by risk controls, price-only exposure is simpler and more regulatory-friendly.
Final Take
SSK’s first-month inflows show that institutional demand for SOL, especially staked SOL, is real, as long as it is packaged in a format they understand. That demand won’t disappear when spot ETFs arrive. Instead, it sets a baseline for broader participation in SOL. With more ETF approvals on the horizon, early traction from SSK may prove to be a leading indicator for Solana’s growing role in TradFi portfolios.
