According to reports from crypto.news, Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley disclosed on August 11 that a major bank has approved BSOL as loan collateral with a maximum 25% loan-to-value ratio. The approval allows customers to borrow up to $25 for every $100 in pledged BSOL shares, with the ETF shares serving as collateral while remaining exposed to Solana price movements. Horsley welcomed this development as another step in crypto's integration with established financial services, though he did not identify the lender or provide details on interest rates, minimum loan sizes, or repayment terms. As reported by crypto.news, no official announcements or detailed specifics have emerged regarding this borrowing facility, with no bank publicly confirmed as linked to the program. A large bank has reportedly enabled clients to borrow up to 25% of the value of their Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) holdings, according to a disclosure shared on the fund's official site, signaling deeper integration between traditional finance and crypto-native products. The acceptance of BSOL as collateral by major banks indicates growing institutional confidence in staking ETFs as stable asset classes, with this development potentially encouraging other traditional lenders to adopt similar frameworks for crypto-backed lending.
As reported by crypto.news, BSOL held 8.18 million SOL worth $622 million as of August 9, with each share representing approximately 0.136735 SOL. The fund reported a net asset value of $10.39 per share and a market price of $10.41 on the same date, with staking covering 99% of the fund's SOL holdings compared to Bitwise's target of 100%. The gross annualized staking reward rate averaged 6.21% over the preceding 90 days, while the net rate after fees stood at 5.84%. According to the fund's quarterly filing with the SEC, BSOL drew $267.1 million in net subscriptions during the first half of 2026, with share issuance increasing SOL holdings from about 5.15 million tokens to approximately 8.05 million by June 30. The fund has since reached approximately $586 million in assets under management, with daily trading volume registering in the tens of millions of shares. BSOL surpassed $500M in AUM by November 21, 2025, just three weeks after launch, demonstrating rapid growth in the crypto ETF market.
According to crypto.news, BSOL recorded $69.45 million in net inflows on its first trading day when it launched on NYSE Arca in October 2025. The fund entered the market with a 0.20% management fee and is structured as an exchange-traded product under the Securities Act of 1933. Unlike a direct sale, borrowing against shares allows approved customers to obtain cash without immediately disposing of their position, with loan proceeds generally not counting as income according to the Internal Revenue Service. The fund uses Coinbase Custody Trust Company to hold its SOL, with Bitwise Onchain Solutions handling staking through Helius technology and BNY Mellon providing cash custody and transfer-agent services. A 25% LTV is conservative by traditional finance standards, with blue-chip equities typically qualifying for 50-70% LTV at major brokerages through margin accounts, while real estate mortgages routinely hit 80% or higher. As noted by crypto.news, BSOL itself does not utilize leverage at the fund level, nor does it offer margin or secured lending products publicly. This borrowing facility exists at the bank level, meaning it's the bank's own risk assessment and credit infrastructure being applied to a crypto ETF, not something baked into the fund's prospectus.
According to crypto.news, the practical appeal of borrowing against BSOL instead of selling it means maintaining exposure to both SOL price appreciation and staking yield compounding, while still accessing liquidity for other investments or expenses. This strategy offers tax efficiency since selling would trigger capital gains in most jurisdictions, while borrowing against an appreciated asset typically doesn't. The collateral is theoretically appreciating in token terms even when prices are flat due to BSOL's reinvestment strategy, which reinvests staking rewards at roughly 7% annually. SOL dropped more than 90% from its 2021 peak during the last bear market, making the fund's staking strategy particularly valuable for long-term Solana exposure. The fund's fee structure is notably lean, with Bitwise charging a 0.20% sponsor fee that gets waived on the first $1 billion in assets under management for the initial three months. BSOL launched on October 28, 2025, as the first US spot Solana ETP offering 100% direct exposure to SOL holdings, designed with an in-house staking strategy targeting roughly 7% in staking rewards.
