According to Farside investors, the Rex Osprey Solana (SOL) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) recorded zero trading activity in four of the six days leading up to August 8th. data.
The fund trading under Ticker SSK posted its flows on August 1st, August 4th, August 5th and August 7th with $6.4 million on August 8th and $2.7 million on August 6th.
The Rex Osprey's Fund is the first US-registered Solana ETF to integrate native staking mechanisms. This product works outside of the standard SEC registered spot ETF framework and provides SOL exposure via indirect vehicles rather than direct cryptographic stocks.
Institutional hesitation
Coin share Flow data Solana products have been attracting $874 million inflows since the start of the year, and despite their status as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency due to capitalization of the era, Ethereum (ETH) and XRP stayed among the leading Cap Altcoins and maintained the XRP.
The trading patterns may reflect the wider institutional hesitation towards Solana-centric investment products compared to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum alternatives.
Nansen's senior research analyst Jake Kenneth attributed the disparity to institutional portfolio allocation strategies. He explained in his notes:
“ETH is seeing a lot of new activity as the agency is likely to be underweight ETH compared to BTC. Solana was mostly in the backseat due to this new wave of attention, but if the agency is trying to diversify away from BTC and ETH, Solana will likely recover.”
Structural complexity creates a barrier to adoption
The Rex Osprey Fund design incorporates a staking mechanism and offshore ETF allocation that distinguishes it from traditional spot cryptocurrency products.
Stabolut founder and CEO Eneko Knörr has identified these features as recruitment obstacles rather than as defects in demand.
I received the knörer:
“SSK's quiet tapes look more like brand and distribution issues than pure demand issues. Its design is not a simple “wrapper spotsol.” Funds can wager Sol and allocate some to other Sol ETFs/ETPs, many offshores.
The fund will charge a 0.75% management fee and place it at the upper limit of the cryptocurrency ETF's expense ratio. Traditional spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs from major publishers typically charge between 0.15% and 0.25%.
Kenneth, a native of Nansen, noted that the fee structure will create a cost-benefit analysis for institutional investors looking at direct cryptocurrency exposure to the convenience of ETFs.
He referenced Solana's staking reward of about 7% per year.
“The staking component appears to be a major feature given that 'passive' yields remain on the table. ”
Market positioning and future outlook
The lack of major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity in the Solana ETF space contributes to limited market penetration.
Rex Shares operates as a small ETF publisher without Wall Street's largest asset manager distribution network and brand recognition.
Knorskrudged:
“Early trading may remain particularly special until a larger brand enters the space. The structure, complexity and limited shelf space are hindering it. It doesn't seem to matter the profits of Solana's exposure itself.”
As of August 11th, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still considering approval of the Solana ETF under the more tax-friendly 1933 Act.
