Institutional-Grade Staking in ETFs with Helius and Bitwise

For the first time in history, traditional investors can now access Solana staking rewards through a regulated ETF trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The launch of BSOL marks a pivotal moment in Solana's journey toward mainstream institutional adoption, and the partnership behind it reveals how crypto-native infrastructure providers are bridging the gap between decentralized finance and Wall Street.

Summary

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At Breakpoint 2025, Hong Kim, CTO and co-founder of Bitwise Asset Management, and Mert Mumtaz, CEO and co-founder of Helius, sat down to discuss their groundbreaking partnership that brought staking to a regulated US ETF product. The Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (ticker: BSOL) launched in October 2025 and represents what Hong describes as Solana's "plus IPO moment" — the ability to trade Solana on the New York Stock Exchange in a staking wrapper.

The partnership between Bitwise and Helius goes beyond simple validator services. Bitwise specifically sought out Helius because of their deep understanding of network dynamics and commitment to decentralization. Unlike providers focused solely on performance metrics, Helius brings unique expertise from running thousands of RPC nodes across the network, giving them battle-tested experience with every possible failure scenario.

What makes this ETF product particularly significant is how it aligns institutional capital flows with network health. Rather than potentially distorting market structure, the stake weight from BSOL actively contributes to network stability and speed. Helius doesn't profit from the staking operations themselves — their business model centers on helping developers build faster applications, meaning ETF holders essentially support infrastructure improvements by purchasing shares.

The technical challenges of bringing staking into a regulated wrapper were substantial. ETFs require daily reconciliation at 4 PM Eastern, meaning exact staking rewards must be calculated for that precise 24-hour window. This data must then be verified by fund administrators, custodians, and auditors daily. Helius's expertise as a data infrastructure company proved essential in meeting these strict reporting requirements with institutional-grade accuracy.

Key Points:

The Strategic Partnership Between Bitwise and Helius

When Bitwise set out to launch a staking ETF in the world's largest capital market, they recognized that validator selection carried implications far beyond simple performance metrics. Hong Kim explained that staking isn't merely passive custody — it actively engages with the network and can significantly influence market structure and ecosystem health at scale.

Bitwise chose Helius not just for their uptime and performance statistics, but for their deep alignment with network health. Mert Mumtaz emphasized that Helius operates differently from typical staking providers because their core business isn't validation — it's infrastructure. Running by far the most nodes on the Solana network, including thousands of RPC nodes, Helius has encountered and solved virtually every operational challenge possible across all global regions. This battle-tested experience provides institutional investors with confidence that their capital is protected by teams who have navigated network attacks, congestion events, and other adversarial conditions.

Why Solana Staking Differs from Ethereum

A significant portion of institutional education involves explaining how Solana staking fundamentally differs from Ethereum's proof-of-stake model. Hong Kim noted that conversations with large banks and platforms often center on misconceptions carried over from Ethereum's approach.

The two primary concerns institutions raise are liquidity lockups and slashing risk. On Ethereum, exit queues can extend to a month, creating substantial liquidity risk for fund products. Solana's approximately two-day unstaking period dramatically reduces this concern. Additionally, Solana's lack of slashing penalties eliminates the risk of investor funds being lost due to validator misbehavior — a critical distinction for institutional risk committees evaluating these products.

Technical Challenges of Regulated Staking Products

Bringing staking into an ETF wrapper required solving unique technical problems around data accuracy and reporting. ETFs operate on strict daily schedules, requiring exact net asset value calculations reconciled across multiple parties including fund administrators, custodians, and auditors.

Mert explained that Solana's blockchain can be particularly challenging to read and interpret accurately. Even minor errors in data granularity could mislead investors, making precision critical. Helius's background as a data infrastructure company made them uniquely qualified to deliver the institutional-quality reporting required. Beyond the technical implementation, Bitwise spent considerable time working with the SEC to ensure regulators understood the mechanics of Solana staking and felt comfortable with the product structure.

Network Alignment and Developer Impact

One of the most compelling aspects of the Bitwise-Helius partnership is how it aligns institutional capital with developer ecosystem growth. Helius doesn't extract profits from the staking operations themselves — their revenue comes from helping developers build applications on Solana.

This creates an unusual dynamic where purchasing shares of BSOL literally helps developers build faster applications. The stake weight supports network performance and speed, which enables more sophisticated DeFi applications, trading platforms, and financial infrastructure. Unlike networks where validator selection makes little practical difference, Solana applications actively leverage even marginal performance improvements to deliver better liquidity and scale to users.

The Vision for Solana's Future

Both speakers painted an ambitious picture of Solana's trajectory toward becoming the "Amazon of markets." Mert articulated the end goal: trading any market, any time, from a phone with nothing but an internet connection. Recent developments support this vision — Ellipsis announced perpetual futures infrastructure, tokenized prediction markets are launching, and day-one listings for new assets like Monad demonstrate Solana's speed to market.

The convergence of institutional products like BSOL with on-chain innovation creates powerful synergies. Hong described a future where the same tokenized asset could be used as collateral for a loan at Goldman Sachs or in a DeFi lending protocol — true integration between traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure rather than isolated parallel markets.

Facts + Figures

• BSOL, the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, launched in October 2025 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker BSOL

• Solana's unstaking period is approximately two days, compared to Ethereum's exit queues which can extend to a month

• Solana does not implement slashing penalties, eliminating risk of investor fund loss due to validator misbehavior

• Helius runs the most nodes on the Solana network, including thousands of RPC nodes across global regions

• ETF products require exact daily reconciliation at 4 PM Eastern time, verified by fund administrators, custodians, and auditors

• Helius does not profit from staking operations on the Bitwise validator — their business model focuses on developer infrastructure

• The US represents the largest capital market in the traditional financial world

• Hong Kim conducts approximately two institutional education calls per week since BSOL's launch

• Monad achieved day-one listing on Solana exchanges, demonstrating rapid asset onboarding capabilities

• Tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and even physical commodities like gold and uranium are becoming available on Solana

Top quotes

"Staking isn't just a little bit different from custody. It engages with the network in a meaningful way." — Hong Kim

"Buying the thing can literally help developers build faster applications." — Mert Mumtaz

"The job is not going to be finished until you can trade any market at any time from your pocket on the internet with nothing but the internet connection." — Mert Mumtaz

"This is Solana's plus IPO moment — you can trade Solana on the New York Stock Exchange now and also in a staking wrapper." — Hong Kim

"We've been on the front lines navigating how do we get around this during network attacks." — Mert Mumtaz

"Those two worlds merging on literally the same type of instrument is the next stage of Solana where it's not an isolated market, but it is actually just integrated into the whole." — Hong Kim

"Since we actually have another business and our core business is not validation, we also run by far the most number of nodes on the network." — Mert Mumtaz

"We tell them it's about two days and it doesn't really work like that [Ethereum], and there's no slashing." — Hong Kim

"Increase bandwidth, reduce latency — once you make the network as fast as possible, like a giant science fiction finance computer." — Mert Mumtaz

Questions Answered

What is BSOL and why is it significant?

BSOL is the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, the first regulated ETF product that allows investors to earn staking rewards on Solana through a traditional brokerage account. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BSOL. This product is significant because it represents a bridge between decentralized finance and traditional capital markets, allowing institutional investors and retail traders alike to access Solana staking yields through familiar investment vehicles. Hong Kim describes it as Solana's "plus IPO moment" because it effectively brings Solana exposure to the world's largest capital market in a regulated wrapper.

How does Solana staking differ from Ethereum staking for institutional investors?

Solana staking offers significant advantages over Ethereum for institutional products. The unstaking period on Solana is approximately two days, compared to Ethereum's exit queues which can extend to a month or longer during periods of high demand. This dramatically reduces liquidity risk for fund products that may need to meet redemption requests. Additionally, Solana does not implement slashing penalties, meaning validator misbehavior cannot result in loss of staked funds. These differences make Solana staking much more compatible with the risk requirements of regulated investment products.

Why did Bitwise choose Helius as their staking partner?

Bitwise selected Helius because they needed more than just a high-performing validator — they wanted a partner aligned with network health and decentralization. Helius runs the most nodes on the Solana network and has battle-tested experience handling network attacks and congestion events. Critically, Helius's core business isn't staking itself but developer infrastructure, meaning they're incentivized to make decisions that benefit the broader ecosystem rather than maximize short-term yields. This alignment ensures that increasing stake weight from BSOL supports rather than distorts Solana's market structure.

What technical challenges exist in bringing staking to regulated ETF products?

ETF products require exact daily reconciliation of net asset value at 4 PM Eastern time. For a staking ETF, this means calculating precisely how many staking rewards accumulated during each 24-hour period. This data must be accurate to institutional standards and verified independently by fund administrators, custodians, and auditors. Solana's blockchain can be particularly challenging to read accurately, requiring specialized data infrastructure expertise. Beyond technical implementation, Bitwise also had to work extensively with the SEC to ensure regulators understood and approved the staking mechanics.

How does purchasing BSOL benefit Solana developers?

Because Helius doesn't profit from the staking operations themselves, the stake weight from BSOL directly contributes to network performance without extractive economics. Helius's business model centers on helping developers build faster applications on Solana, so they're incentivized to make staking decisions that improve network speed and stability. The applications built on Solana actively leverage even marginal performance improvements, meaning better validator operations translate directly into better user experiences for DeFi platforms, trading applications, and other ecosystem projects.

What is the future vision for Solana in capital markets?

The end goal articulated by both speakers is creating the "Amazon of markets" — the ability to trade any asset, any time, from anywhere with just an internet connection. This includes spot trading, perpetual futures, prediction markets, tokenized stocks, and even physical commodities like gold and uranium. The convergence of institutional products like BSOL with on-chain innovation creates a future where the same asset could serve as collateral at traditional institutions like Goldman Sachs or in DeFi lending protocols. Rather than operating as isolated markets, traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure will become fully integrated on Solana's high-performance rails.