Grayscale’s Crypto Index Fund Sees ‘Solid Start’ as SOL, XRP Institutional Demand Climbs

Grayscale’s crypto index fund is off to a solid start, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. This comes amid the rising institutional demand for Solana and XRP, even as the potential launch of spot crypto ETFs for these altcoins draws near.

Grayscale’s Fund Off To A Solid Start Amid Rising SOL, XRP Demand

In an X post, Balchunas revealed that Grayscale’s CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF did $22 million on its first day as an ETF, a development which he described as really “solid.” He also highlighted the fact that REX-Osprey’s Dogecoin and XRP ETFs did $12 million and $15 million, respectively.

The Bloomberg analyst noted that all these crypto ETFs have crushed the average ETF launch, although it is still a far cry from the Bitcoin ETFs. However, he added that the inflows are something that the ETF issuers can be happy about.

As CoinGape reported, Grayscale’s index-based fund, which holds BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and ADA, launched yesterday following approval from the SEC on September 17. This fund is the first spot crypto index fund to launch.

REX-Osprey Dogecoin and XRP ETFs also launched this week, becoming the first funds to offer spot exposure to these altcoins in the U.S. The DOGE ETF became the first fund to hold an asset that doesn’t exactly have any utility.

Rising Institutional Demand For These Altcoins

Solana and XRP, which are among the top altcoins by market cap, are recording rising institutional demand ahead of the potential launch of spot ETFs, which will hold them under the 33 Act. The CME official trader community X platform recently remarked that SOL is “moving at a new speed.”

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 community account noted that SOL futures open interest (OI) has exceeded $2.1 billion notional volume, becoming the fastest of its futures products to double its OI since hitting $1 billion. The post further noted that it took BTC a month and ETH three years, while SOL did it in just 18 trading days.

The CME trader community remarked that this momentum confirms the shift in demand for crypto risk management tools beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is worth noting that the CME XRP futures also hit $1 billion OI last month, becoming the fastest crypto contract to hit that milestone.

Amid the rising demand for its SOL and XRP futures products, CME has announced plans to launch options on these futures products on October 13. Meanwhile, Coinbase also recently highlighted the record demand for its SOL and XRP products.

The top crypto exchange revealed that in just one month, its SOL and XRP perpetual-style futures have scaled exponentially. These futures products have recorded $1.9 billion in notional volume and 1.6 million contracts traded.