GSR Seeks ETF Backed by Crypto Treasury Firms in Bold Wall Street Bid — What to Expect?
Crypto buying and selling agency GSR has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch its first exchange-traded fund (ETF), betting that Wall Street’s urge for food for company crypto treasuries stays sturdy regardless of a bruising 12 months for the sector.
The proposed GSR Digital Asset Treasury Companies ETF would monitor public companies that maintain cryptocurrencies akin to Bitcoin, Ether, and different altcoins on their steadiness sheets, akin to Strategy Inc. (MSTR), Upexi, Inc. (UPXI), DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), CEA Industries Inc. (BNC), SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (SBET), Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (BMNR), SUI Group Holdings Limited (SUIG), and so forth.
The timing is putting. Corporate treasuries holding crypto have ballooned to report ranges in 2025, with over $1 trillion price of tokens sitting on steadiness sheets. Yet valuations for a lot of of these companies have slipped beneath the worth of their reserves, forcing some to flip to debt-funded buybacks and restructuring.
Critics argue the mannequin is turning into saturated and more and more dangerous, particularly as smaller gamers experiment with altcoin-heavy reserves to differentiate themselves.
If accepted, GSR’s fund would be a part of a rising crop of Wall Street automobiles designed to package deal crypto publicity for conventional markets; nevertheless, its success could hinge on whether or not traders view company treasuries as a secure innovation or a fragile experiment underneath stress.
GSR Unveils Crypto Treasury ETF With Flexible Holdings and PIPE Exposure
The GSR Digital Asset Treasury Companies ETF, in which a minimum of 80% of the fund’s holdings would encompass equities in these so-called “digital asset treasury firms” (DATs), expects to maintain 10–15 positions throughout 5 to 10 issuers, primarily firms listed on U.S. exchanges. GSR famous this quantity could broaden because the market evolves.
The submitting additionally permits the fund to take part in personal investments in public fairness (PIPEs), topic to a 15% illiquidity restrict underneath the Investment Company Act of 1940. PIPEs let institutional traders purchase discounted shares immediately from public firms, providing issuers sooner capital entry however typically with resale restrictions and decrease liquidity.
Cash raised from portfolio gross sales could also be reinvested in different treasury firms or short-term U.S. authorities securities. Importantly, GSR emphasised that the ETF just isn’t designed to monitor crypto costs immediately, and its efficiency could diverge from that of the underlying belongings.
Notably, the crypto treasury ETF is considered one of 5 merchandise GSR has proposed. GSR can be concentrating on the fast-growing staking market with three separate funds:
- Ethereum Staking Opportunity ETF and Ethereum YieldEdge ETF, each structured underneath the restrictive Investment Company Act of 1940, will use offshore subsidiaries to stake ETH and doubtlessly purchase abroad ETH staking ETFs. The YieldEdge fund provides a derivatives-based yield technique on prime.
- Crypto StakingMax ETF, additionally a 40 Act fund, will focus broadly on proof-of-stake tokens and staking methods.
Rounding out the submitting is the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF, structured underneath the extra versatile Securities Act of 1933, which might maintain Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana immediately, sustaining roughly one-third allocations to every. This places it in the identical regulatory bucket because the now-popular spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs launched final 12 months.
Crypto Treasury Firms Turn to Debt-Fueled Buybacks as Investor Doubts Mount
While GSR is getting ready to launch ETFs tied to crypto treasury companies, the transfer comes at a second when these very companies are dealing with a downturn.
Public firms that after loaded their steadiness sheets with Bitcoin and Ether at the moment are grappling with market values which have sunk beneath the price of the tokens they maintain.
In response, many are turning to aggressive share buybacks, often funded by debt, in a bid to prop up falling inventory costs.
At least seven companies, from gaming outfits to biotech rebrands, have just lately introduced repurchase applications. ETHZilla, previously 180 Life Sciences, borrowed $80 million from Cumberland DRW to finance a $250 million buyback after its shares plunged 76% from an August peak.
“They’re borrowing cash to purchase time, not tokens,” stated Adam Morgan McCarthy, senior analyst at Kaiko.
Critics argue that borrowing to fund buybacks undermines the thesis that digital asset appreciation alone would elevate stock worth. Still, conviction has not disappeared solely, as firms have acquired extra Bitcoin this 12 months than U.S. spot ETFs mixed, and retail traders proceed to take in liquidity when establishments step again.
But because the NAV hole widens and debt-fueled repurchases multiply, the sustainability of the crypto treasury experiment is dealing with its most critical take a look at but.
At the identical time, momentum in the ETF market is accelerating. In latest months, issuers have filed for a wave of merchandise tied to altcoins, token bundles, and staking methods.
As of late August, the SEC was weighing greater than 90 crypto ETF purposes, in accordance to Bloomberg analysis. Their odds of approval improved after the regulator adopted new itemizing requirements for commodity-based trusts, streamlining the method.
Just final week, Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC), which tracks XRP, Solana, Cardano, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, together with the Rex-Osprey DOGE ETF (DOJE), started buying and selling after successful SEC approval.
That similar day, Tidal Financial Group utilized for a leveraged AltSeason ETF excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, signaling how rapidly the subsequent wave of crypto funding automobiles is coming to market.
Their prospects improved final week after the regulator approved new generic listing standards for commodity-based trusts, streamlining the approval course of. Hashdex’s Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF turned the primary to transfer ahead underneath the SEC’s new generic itemizing guidelines.
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