GSR Rolls Out First Crypto ETF as 2026 Fund Wave Tests Demand

The GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO) offers investors exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL). It charges a 1% management fee and incorporates staking – or the process of locking up one's crypto in exchange for rewards – where possible, according to a press release viewed by Sandmark.

The launch highlights how issuers continue to push new products even as investor demand appears to be slowing, with flows remaining mainly concentrated in more established crypto ETFs such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which holds nearly $61bn in net assets, according to SoSoValue data. Spot crypto ETFs are a type of investment vehicle that let investors get direct exposure to certain digital assets without the need for digital keys or crypto wallets.

Momentum slows

Newer funds, on the other hand, are recording more modest traction. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), which recorded about $34mn in trading volume on its first day on Nasdaq. Since then, the fund has posted steady but limited inflows, including about $10.8mn on 21 Apr, bringing total assets to nearly $156mn, per SoSoValue.

Across the broader US spot BTC ETF market, there are 13 funds that hold roughly $99bn in total net assets. Bitcoin is changing hands at $79,000 at 16:00UTC, up nearly 5% on the day as investors weighed tensions in the Middle East. 

Meanwhile, altcoin ETFs are seeing even lighter demand: 21Shares's Polkadot ETF (TDOT), which launched in March, has attracted about $1mn in inflows and holds roughly $11mn in assets as of 20 Apr, with daily activity appearing to be mostly inconsistent.

"The era for crypto ETFs is fleeting. Blackrock's IBIT generated massive revenue, but the space is now crowded with similar ETFs," Brian Huang, co-founder of crypto investment startup Glider, told Sandmark, adding that heavy correlation between SOL, BTC and ETH may limit diversification. 

Huang added that the "regulatory arbitrage" for these ETFs is also slowly disseminating. "The fast and smart money institutions of the world are already holding crypto natively instead of in wrapped ETFs," he said. "Custodians like Anchorage can custody and perform similar strategies onchain directly without the ETF issuer middleman."

Crypto ETFs keep on coming

While those figures point to some investor interest, they remain well below the scale recorded during the first wave of spot Bitcoin ETF launches of early 2024. Regardless of this slowed activity and lowered sentiment, the steady pipeline of launches suggests firms want to keep bringing new crypto products to market.

Goldman Sachs, for example, is preparing its own crypto ETF, according to an 14 Apr filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The proposed fund would offer Bitcoin exposure while using options strategies to generate income. It also marks one of the bank's, which manages more than $3.6tn in assets, largest pushes into crypto yet. 

Fabian Dori, CIO at Sygnum Bank, told Sandmark that while crypto assets have had a difficult start to the year, the "real adoption signal" is not just what banks and institutions are buying, but what they're building.

"New ETF launches such as the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust or the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF, and Franklin Templeton launching a dedicated crypto division are only a few examples of infrastructure commitments that signal long-term conviction, not speculative positioning," Dori emphasized.  

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart wrote on X that he expects basket ETFs "to be one of the fastest growing categories in crypto ETFs over the next couple years." 

GSR did not immediately respond to Sandmark's request for comment.