Bitwise taps Superstate to tokenize shares of select crypto funds
Bitwise Asset Management is building a blockchain-based recordkeeping option for shares of certain crypto funds, with its Solana staking ETF, BSOL, set to be the first product considered. The setup would keep shareholder rights intact while changing how ownership is recorded, but Bitwise says launch is not guaranteed.
- Bitwise + Superstate, exploring tokenized share records for select funds
- BSOL first, but the tokenized version is not assured
- Same rights, different recordkeeping, not a new asset class
- Permissioned system, not free-floating onchain trading
Bitwise said shareholders could choose between traditional book-entry shares held through The Depository Trust Company and tokenized shares recorded on a blockchain through Superstate’s transfer agency infrastructure. That is a meaningful shift in the plumbing, not a declaration that Wall Street has suddenly become a DeFi pool.
The key caveat is right there in the fine print: the tokenization capability is still being developed, and Bitwise says there is no assurance it will launch for BSOL or any other fund. Good. That caution is not a buzzkill; it is the difference between a real product plan and another round of crypto brochure copy.
What tokenization means here
In this context, tokenization means recording ownership on a blockchain instead of relying only on conventional securities recordkeeping. The shares themselves do not become some mystical new instrument. The legal structure stays the same; the record of who owns what is what changes.
Bitwise says tokenized shares would preserve the same shareholder rights as conventional shares. That matters because the goal is not to strip away protections and replace them with a shiny wallet interface. The goal is to keep the fund structure intact while modernizing the back office.
There is also a major limitation: tokenized shares would not be freely transferable outside the blockchain-based system supporting them. So if anyone was hoping for a fully open, borderless onchain stock market where regulated fund shares just zip around like meme coins, that is not what this is.
This is regulated finance using blockchain rails, not blockchain escaping regulated finance. That distinction is the whole point.
Why BSOL is first in line
The first product being considered is the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, or BSOL. It gives direct exposure to Solana and incorporates staking rewards from the SOL held by the fund. Bitwise launched BSOL with a 0.20% expense ratio.
BSOL began trading on NYSE Arca in October 2025. It is backed by SOL held in institutional cold storage and tracks the Compass Solana Total Return Monthly Index after fees and expenses.
That makes BSOL a clean test case. It sits right at the intersection of crypto-native demand and traditional finance wrappers, which is exactly where tokenized recordkeeping makes the most sense to try first.
It also helps that the product category is not simple. A staking ETF is not just plain spot exposure. Staking means the fund can earn rewards by helping validate a proof-of-stake network like Solana, but that also introduces operational risk, liquidity risk, and blockchain-specific complexity. Crypto always wants the upside first and the footnotes later.
Superstate is becoming a recurring name in tokenized securities
Superstate is building infrastructure for compliant securities issuance, recordkeeping and onchain market integration. In March 2025, Superstate Services LLC was registered as a transfer agent with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That may sound boring, but boring is often what regulated markets require if they are going to work.
Superstate’s Opening Bell platform was introduced in May 2025 to allow SEC-registered shares to be issued and traded on public blockchains, initially using Solana. The company has also been used by other firms to bring regulated securities and funds onchain, including Galaxy Digital and Coinbase Asset Management.
That pattern matters. Superstate is not just trying to launch its own flashy products. It is trying to become infrastructure. And in finance, infrastructure is usually where the durable power sits.
Why this fits the wider tokenization push
The Bitwise move lands at a time when more asset managers are testing blockchain-based recordkeeping for regulated products. In June, Superstate was selected to support Invesco's Blockchain-Based Money Market Fund Filing and maintain its blockchain-integrated shareholder registry.
The Invesco filing described a Rule 2a-7 government money market fund, which means a regulated money market structure that invests in cash, repurchase agreements and short-term U.S. Treasury securities. That is not the kind of thing crypto tourists usually get excited about, but it is exactly the kind of product that shows tokenization is moving into serious financial plumbing.
That is the real signal here. The market is not just experimenting with tokenizing speculative assets. It is also building blockchain rails for the dull, cash-like instruments that sit underneath stablecoins, treasury management and institutional liquidity. Boring, yes. Important, absolutely.
Bitwise is expanding while cutting staff
The partnership also arrives shortly after Bitwise said it cut 14% of its employees, leaving its global headcount at about 155 people. Chief executive Hunter Horsley told The Block the reductions were intended to better equip the company for ongoing growth.
Hunter Horsley told The Block that the reductions were intended to better equip the company for ongoing growth.
Bitwise oversees more than $9 billion in client assets across more than 70 investment products. That scale makes the tokenization push more than a side experiment. It is a real asset manager trying to update the rails under its business while the crypto ETF market keeps widening.
Bitwise has also filed for or launched funds tied to XRP, Sui, Aave, Zcash and Tron, and in July it amended its planned NEAR ETF to include staking and named NYSE Arca, BNY Mellon and Coinbase Custody in the filing. The message is clear enough: Bitwise is betting that crypto products will keep multiplying, even if the market keeps arguing about which chain or asset deserves the spotlight.
That broader product machine also includes Bitwise Launches BSOL, First Spot Solana ETP in U.S. and the firm’s tokenized-fund push through Bitwise Debuts the Bitwise Crypto Carry Fund, showing that this is not some one-off PR stunt.
What investors should understand
Book-entry form is the standard electronic recordkeeping system used for securities, typically through a clearing and custody framework rather than a blockchain. The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, is the traditional U.S. securities depository where those records are commonly maintained.
Transfer agency infrastructure is the system used to keep official shareholder records and process ownership changes. In this setup, Superstate is providing the blockchain-based version of that plumbing.
That can matter for practical reasons. A blockchain-based record may make reconciliation easier, streamline transfer tracking and support more programmable compliance, all while preserving the legal framework of the fund. It does not remove risk. It does not erase custody concerns. It does not make a volatile asset less volatile. It just changes how the ownership layer is maintained.
That is a useful upgrade, not a magic trick.
Why the caution matters
Bitwise is being careful for good reason. Tokenized shares are still subject to applicable legal and regulatory requirements, and the company says there is no guarantee the capability will ever be rolled out for BSOL or any other fund.
That matters because tokenization has become one of those words that gets used to mean three different things at once: a serious infrastructure upgrade, a marketing buzzword, and sometimes a lazy excuse to slap a blockchain on something that did not need one. This announcement sits closest to the first category.
The important nuance is that the tokenized shares are still part of a controlled, permissioned system. They are onchain, but they are not free-range assets roaming the internet. Regulators are not going to applaud a fund manager for reinventing chaos.
The regulatory backdrop is not exactly a free-for-all either, which is why the SEC’s Statement on Tokenized Securities matters here: tokenization does not exempt securities from the securities laws. Shocking, I know.
For those tracking Bitwise’s wider market bets, Horsley’s long-term outlook is also getting fresh attention in Bitwise CIO: Bitcoin to Hit $1M by 2035 with 15% Market and Bitwise CIO Predicts $1 Million Bitcoin: Market Math and, though price fantasies should always be treated with a healthy dose of salt and skepticism.
And for a reminder that institutions are not exactly allergic to staking when the incentives line up, see the Ethereum Foundation Stakes $140M ETH with Bitwise: Bold move that underscored how even the Ethereum crowd is willing to use professional asset management when it suits them.
Key questions and takeaways
-
Will BSOL definitely get tokenized shares?
No. Bitwise says the capability is still being developed and there is no assurance it will launch for BSOL or any other fund. -
What changes if the shares are tokenized?
The ownership record moves from the traditional DTC-style book-entry system to blockchain-based recordkeeping through Superstate, while the shareholder rights stay the same. -
Can tokenized shares be traded anywhere?
No. Bitwise says they would not be freely transferable outside the blockchain-based system supporting them. -
Why does Superstate matter?
Superstate provides the regulated transfer agency and onchain infrastructure needed to issue and track securities in a compliant way. -
Why is BSOL the first candidate?
It already combines crypto-native demand, Solana exposure and staking inside a regulated ETF wrapper, making it a practical test case for tokenized share records. -
What is the bigger significance?
More financial firms are testing blockchain-based recordkeeping for regulated assets, especially funds tied to treasuries, money markets and crypto exposure. -
What does Bitwise’s Solana move point to?
It suggests tokenization is moving from theory into actual market infrastructure, especially as firms build around products like BSOL and related Solana offerings.
The real takeaway
This is not crypto utopia, and it is not a threat to the entire financial system either. It is something more realistic: a permissioned attempt to use blockchain tooling inside existing securities rules.
That may disappoint the purists who want fully open markets with no gatekeepers. It may also annoy the finance crowd that would prefer the word “blockchain” stay in the marketing deck and nowhere near the transfer agent. But if tokenization is going to matter, this is probably how it scales, slowly, compliantly and with a long list of caveats attached.
In other words: less revolution, more infrastructure. And in finance, infrastructure is usually where the real change hides.
Further reading
One more relevant thread on Solana tokenization and what it could mean for regulated funds.
