Grayscale launches Lido, Optimism investment funds

As a seasoned researcher with a keen interest in the dynamic world of crypto, I find it fascinating to witness the continuous expansion of investment opportunities within this burgeoning sector. The launch of Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust is a testament to Ethereum’s potential and the growing importance of scalability solutions like L2 networks.

On December 12th, Grayscale Investments unveiled two fresh investment funds dedicated to the governance tokens of Lido (LDO) and Optimism (OP). This announcement came from the asset management team.

These two trusts – Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust – provide access to the primary tokens associated with Ethereum’s leading liquid staking token protocol and a widely adopted layer-2 solution for scalability, respectively.

Rayhahne Sharif-Askary, Grayscale’s product and research leader, stated that Lido is contributing to making staking on Ethereum more accessible, while Optimism plays a vital role in enabling Ethereum to expand and compete with emerging, quicker layer 1 blockchains.

Trusts are structured to provide investors with access to protocols that enhance Ethereum’s functionality in terms of efficiency, security, scalability, and overall adoption within the decentralized finance (DeFi) community, as stated by Sharif-Askary.

Lido operates as a platform that generates tradable tokens, each token signifying a claim on a pool of Ether (ETH) that has been staked. At present, it boasts a total value locked (TVL) of nearly $40 billion, earning it the title of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol in terms of TVL, as reported by DefiLlama.

Optimism is a popular L2 network with approximately $800 million in TVL, according to DefiLlama. 

Its technology stack is used by other L2s, including Coinbase’s Base and Uniswap’s Unichain, creating a network of interlinked L2s Optimism dubs the “superchain.”

Expanding suite of crypto funds

The funds, accessible exclusively to accredited investors, expand Grayscale’s range of standalone cryptocurrency investment offerings.

In October, Grayscale launched an investment fund for Aave’s governance token, AAVE

Additionally, it has incorporated 35 alternative cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin, Worldcoin, Pyth, and Rune into a potential investment list, which is currently under review for future financial offerings.

During the month of August, Grayscale introduced three separate investment vehicles for purchasing the original tokens associated with the underlying platforms of Sky (formerly known as MakerDAO), Bittensor, and Sui.

As of December 11th, Grayscale is the world’s leading cryptocurrency asset manager, overseeing approximately $35 billion in investments, as reported by Grayscale itself.

It’s particularly recognized for offering exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE).

U.S. authorities are considering allowing the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) – a fund that invests in a variety of cryptocurrencies – to operate as a Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

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2024-12-12 20:12