Grayscale GDLC Fund Sparks New Institutional Era for Altcoins

Grayscale’s new crypto index fund has entered the market with momentum. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said the fund saw $22 million in trading on its first day. 

He called the result strong, adding that it did better than most new ETFs. The success shows that more investors are interested in crypto funds that spread risk across different assets.

New Crypto ETFs Show Strong Debut Beyond Bitcoin

The index, called the CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF, holds Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, and Cardano (ADA). Approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 17, it is the first spot crypto index fund to launch in the U.S.

Grayscale was not the only player making headlines this week. REX-Osprey also launched two ETFs: one for Dogecoin and one for XRP. The Dogecoin ETF has already raked in $12 million in trades, while the XRP ETF reached $15 million.

Even though these numbers are smaller than those of Bitcoin ETFs, they still show a strong beginning. Balchunas said the results should give issuers confidence since they prove there is real interest beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Solana and XRP See Rising Demand

The excitement extends beyond ETFs. Institutional investors are showing increased interest in Solana and XRP. 

CME’s official trader community highlighted that Solana futures open interest has surged past $2.1 billion. Remarkably, Solana achieved this in only 18 trading days. This is faster than Bitcoin, which took a month, and Ethereum, which needed three years.

XRP is also growing in popularity. Its futures hit $1 billion in open interest last month, making it the fastest crypto contract to ever reach that level. This shows a bigger change in the market, as traders now want risk management tools for more than just Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Solana and XRP Products Signal Shift in U.S. Crypto Market

With interest growing, CME said it will launch options for Solana and XRP futures on October 13. 

This will give traders more tools to manage risk and gain exposure. Coinbase also confirmed rising demand. The exchange shared that its futures for Solana and XRP hit $1.9 billion in volume and 1.6 million contracts traded in just one month.

The strong start of Grayscale’s fund, along with the growth of Solana and XRP products, marks a turning point. Investors are now looking beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, while institutions are rolling out new products to meet this demand. These updates show how fast the U.S. crypto market is changing.