Standardized

It turns out the high-stakes uncertainty overhanging crypto’s fledgling regulated crypto product market for much of the year can be placed among the most benign forms of suspense. Sustained enough for issuers to quantify, chronicle, and tacitly lobby against, but abridged enough to prevent material negative impact to their roadmaps.

Those Generic Listing Standards (GLS) for ‘commodity based trust shares’ that tracked into focus less than a couple of months ago (handily, including a large swathe of crypto assets, following the passing of the CLARITY Act, in July) have now been crystallized by an accelerated approval order.

(Coindesk write-up here.)

If you’ve not already read the most definitive, erudite, and concise assessment of the substance and implications of the GLS through an institutional lens, by CF Benchmarks’ Head of Research, Gabe Selby, CFA, you’re advised to do so now by clicking below.

So, GLS are simply a streamlined, pre-approved framework of pre-requisites, which if adhered to by what is likely to be the majority of crypto ETF filings, will notionally function as an expedited review.

Here’s a clip from an amazingly informative conversation with our recent podcast guest, Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise. Here, he briefly and deftly outlines the expected practical impact on the process of bringing crypto ETFs to market.

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Click below for the full episode.

For an even broader set of insights from Bitwise’s Ryan Rasmussen, and the firm’s CEO, Hunter Horsley, click below to hear the playback of a recent joint webinar by Bitwise and the CF Benchmarks research team.

Adding further contemporaneous context to the Generic Listing Standards approval, we spotlight a few distinct but related crypto ETF developments closely trailing in GLS’s wake.

REX-Osprey first again with Doge and XRP ETFs

In a further incremental progression that fits neatly into the idea that it was a quietly orchestrated window, our existing licensee, REX-Osprey, who snuck the first Solana staking ETF through to market during the summer’s regulatory impasse, by ingenious application of the ’40 Act framework, conducted similar maneuvers in recent days to clinch two further first-time crypto listings.

This time, the group successfully launched both the first U.S.-listed Dogecoin ETF, REX-Osprey DOGE ETF (ticker: DOJE), and achieved a similar milestone with its REX-Osprey XRP ETF (ticker: XRPR).

Regulated CF Benchmarks indices utilized this time:

Despite their hybrid structure — typically less preferred by institutional allocators (and now GLS is done, with ’33 Act versions probably around the corner) — the REX-Osprey funds racked up an impressive $54.7 million in combined first-day trading volume.

XRPR’s “Shockingly solid” debut volume, according to Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, eventually reached around $37.7 million; enough for the fund's day-one volume to supplant a prior non-crypto ETF for the title of “biggest day one (natural) $ volume of any 2025 launch.”

$XRPR traded $37.7m on Day One, which edges out $IVES for the biggest day one (natural) $ volume of any 2025 launch. $DOJE is no slouch at $17m, which would be Top 5 for year.. out of 710 launches. Good sign for the onslaught of 33 Act ETFs coming soon.. pic.twitter.com/JaQP9ekFIq
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) September 18, 2025

Click below to read our launch posts for DOJE and XRPR

Grayscale’s Crypto 5 is first post-GLS approval

The ETF approved in closest proximity to the SEC signing off on GLS was Grayscale’s Coindesk Crypto 5 ETF, which thereby snatches the distinction of being the first truly multi-asset, portfolio-style crypto ETF to launch under this new regime. A clear enough signal that these aren’t theoretical changes, but new rails already in use.

The fund appears to be the latest incarnation of Grayscale's filing that first appeared to receive regulatory permission in July, only to be, controversially, prevented from being listed.

With several other rival multi-asset filings also on the slate, including a number from CF Benchmarks clients such as Bitwise – whose filing to uplist the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) suffered the same initial fate as Grayscale’s – Grayscale’s fund is unlikely to be the only exchange listed crypto portfolio ETF for long.

Featured content from our partner 3iQ

We're delighted to feature an article by our client, 3iQ Corp., on the opportunity represented by their Solana ETF, the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF (SOLQ).

It's the fastest growing spot SOL ETF listed in North America. Read on for our summary, followed by a link to click through to the complete article.

Why a Solana ETF? Insights For Investors Seeking Exposure

As institutional interest in Solana builds, 3iQ's latest offering — the Solana Staking ETF (TSX: SOLQ) — makes a strong case for bringing this next-gen blockchain into traditional investment frameworks. The piece, titled 'Why a Solana ETF? Insights For Investors Seeking Exposure', outlines how Solana’s role in DeFi, payments, tokenization, and high-speed trading makes it a standout Layer 1 platform — but also one that presents challenges for direct (self-custodied) exposure. SOLQ bridges this gap by offering regulated, exchange-listed access to spot SOL, while integrating staking rewards as an added yield enhancement.

Notably, SOLQ is now Canada’s largest Solana ETF, having surpassed CAD $90 million AUM, and it includes backing from institutional names like ARK Invest and SkyBridge Capital.

With 0% management fees through April 2026, Coinbase as sub-custodian, and a design built for both accessibility and participation, SOLQ illustrates how ETFs can evolve beyond passive exposure — combining yield, transparency, and regulatory clarity to meet the expectations of modern investors.

Click below to read the complete article.