Market Watch
Things to Watch This Week (July 7 - July 12)
July 9 - Tariff Deadline
The 90-day pause on “reciprocal” U.S. tariffs expires midweek—markets await clarity on whether President Trump will reapply higher rates to countries lacking deals, beyond those settled with the U.K. and Vietnam.
Random Musing This Week
Solana Staking ETF
Rex-Osprey’s Solana Staking ETF (SSK) made its debut last week, becoming the first U.S.-listed ETF to offer both direct SOL exposure and staking yield. On its first trading day:
Trading volume reached $33.9 million, placing it among the top 1% of new ETF listings.
Net inflows were approximately $12 million.
For comparison, BlackRock’s ETHA ETF recorded $248.7 million in first-day volume (July 2024), making SSK’s launch approximately 14% of that scale, still significant for a non-Ethereum asset backed by a lesser-known issuer.
What Makes SSK Different?
Unlike traditional crypto ETFs, SSK delivers staking rewards through a C-corporation structure, allowing it to bypass direct SEC approval. This structure routes income through the fund, but results in double taxation (corporate and dividend level). It’s a necessary workaround given the regulatory environment’s continued caution toward staking.
Importantly, SSK launched without a Grayscale conversion, meaning no day-one outflows—a factor that has weighed on early price action in previous ETF launches. While its structure doesn’t signal formal SEC approval of staking ETFs, SSK represents a significant step forward in crypto ETF development.
Institutional Signals
On the same week as launch, CME Solana futures open interest surged to $167 million, a new record, suggesting increased institutional hedging or directional positioning around SOL. Though smaller in scale than ETH or BTC ETFs, SSK’s strong debut underscores the growing institutional appetite for Solana and the market potential of staking-enabled ETF structures.
Recap of Top Stories (June 30 – July 4)
Interesting
US Senator Cynthia Lummis drafts standalone crypto tax bill
Commentary: US Senator Cynthia Lummis submitted a draft bill on Thursday, outlining several provisions to overhaul the tax code and exempt certain digital asset transactions from taxation after crypto amendments failed to appear in the budget package.
The bill proposes a de minimis exemption for digital asset transactions and capital gains of $300 or less, with a $5,000 annual exemption cap. The Wyoming Senator also outlined provisions to exempt crypto lending agreements and digital assets used in charitable contributions from taxation. Additionally, the bill proposed deferring taxes on mining and staking rewards until the underlying assets are sold.
First spot Solana staking ETF notches $33 million in volume on first day trading
Commentary: The “REX-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF,” which made history as the first approved staking ETF in the U.S. on Wednesday, closed the day with approximately $33 million in trading volume, according to Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas on X.
The fund, which is atypically regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and uses Anchorage as a custodian, also brought in $1 million in assets under management.
Franklin Templeton flags uncertain outlook for crypto treasury firms, citing ‘dangerous’ feedback loop risk
Commentary: Analysts at Franklin Templeton Digital Assets warned that the future of corporate crypto treasury strategies is uncertain and contingent on several critical factors. While the ability to raise capital at a premium to NAV, asset appreciation potential, and staking opportunities offer upside, a negative feedback loop is a serious risk, they said.
Coinbase acquires token management platform Liquifi
Commentary: Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase continued its 2025 buying spree, acquiring token management platform Liquifi. Coinbase on Wednesday announced a strategic acquisition of Liquifi, a token management platform focused on early-stage tokenization projects.
According to Tusar, Coinbase’s acquisition of Liquifi aims to address the complexity of token launches by onchain builders, including issues like fragmented legal, tax and compliance hurdles, regulatory matters and more.
Robinhood pays $5 in transaction fees to deploy 213 tokenized stock contracts on Arbitrum
Commentary: Robinhood minted about 213 tokenized equities on Arbitrum for roughly $5 in gas fees as the online brokerage and trading platform prepares to offer European customers access to blue-chip U.S. shares powered by decentralized technology.
The issuance is part of a growing trend among centralized platforms seeking to offer customers exposure to the U.S. stock market. This week, Robinhood said EU users will soon be able to trade more than 200 tokenized U.S. stocks. Bybit and Kraken rolled out similar products via a partnership with Backed Finance and its xStocks tool.
SEC approves conversion of Grayscale's large-cap crypto fund into ETF
Commentary: Asset manager Grayscale received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday to convert its Digital Large-Cap Fund into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The fund consists of the five biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization featured in the CoinDesk Five Index.
Roughly 80.2% of the weighted fund is Bitcoin (BTC), followed by Ether (ETH) at 11.3%, while Solana (SOL) accounts for approximately 2.7% of the fund, XRP (XRP) commands over 4.8%, and Cardano's ADA (ADA) has a weighting of 0.81% in the fund.
Deutsche Bank to launch crypto custody accounts in 2026
Commentary: Germany’s biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, is reportedly planning to allow its clients to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin next year. Deutsche Bank plans to launch a digital assets custody service in 2026 in collaboration with the technology unit of Austria-based Bitpanda crypto exchange, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The crypto custody service’s development will also involve Deutsche Bank-backed Swiss technology provider Taurus, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter. If confirmed, Deutsche Bank’s latest plans would mark the bank’s latest attempt to enter the crypto storage market, since it revealed such ambitions in 2020.
Kazakhstan plans to establish national crypto reserve
Commentary: The National Bank of Kazakhstan plans to establish a state-managed cryptocurrency reserve, according to a Monday report by government news agency Kazinform.
Local authorities are studying the development of a crypto reserve, which would follow international practices. Typically, such reserves are likely to be funded with expropriated digital assets and state-run crypto mining operations, the report said.
First US staking ETF to launch Wednesday, giving investors exposure to Solana
Commentary: The first US staked cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) will launch on Wednesday, allowing investors to hold Solana and earn yield through staking.
As the name suggests, the REX-Osprey fund will give investors direct exposure to spot SOL along with staking income, potentially paving the way for broader institutional adoption of crypto.
Robinhood expands into tokenized equities and crypto perp futures, plans Layer 2 blockchain with Arbitrum
Commentary: Online brokerage and trading platform Robinhood unveiled on Monday that it will be offering EU users the chance to invest in more than 200 tokenized versions of U.S. stocks.
Other Robinhood announcements from Monday included launching perpetual futures in the EU and the staking of Ethereum and Solana in the U.S., EU, and EEA. The company also said it is developing its own Layer 2, which is based on Arbitrum.
XRP Ledger's Ethereum-compatible sidechain launches on mainnet
Commentary: The XRP Ledger, a blockchain associated with cross-border payments firm Ripple, has launched its EVM sidechain on mainnet, enabling developers to build, port, and deploy cross-chain Ethereum-compatible applications within its ecosystem.
The XRPL EVM Sidechain, a parallel-running blockchain, integrates the XRP Ledger's low-cost transaction capabilities with Ethereum's smart contract functionality, opening the door to new classes of decentralized apps — including lending, tokenization, and payments — on infrastructure optimized for speed, security, and scale.
Upcoming Market Events
July 15 - U.S. CPI (June)
July 25 - BTC CME July (BTCN25) Options Expiry
July 30 - U.S. FOMC Interest Rate Decision