Grayscale Investments has recently introduced two new investment funds targeting the governance tokens of Lido and Optimism, according to an announcement made on December 12. This addition enhances Grayscale’s growing range of single-asset cryptocurrency investment products.
The Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust provide investors with access to the native tokens of Ethereum’s top liquid staking token (LST) protocol and one of its widely utilized layer-2 (L2) scaling solutions, respectively.
“Lido is playing a significant role in making staking more accessible on Ethereum, while Optimism is essential for Ethereum’s ability to scale and remain competitive against newer, faster layer 1 blockchains,” stated Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale’s head of product and research.
These trusts aim to give investors access to protocols that enhance Ethereum’s efficiency, security, scalability, and broader adoption within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, according to Sharif-Askary.
Lido functions as an LST protocol that creates tradeable tokens symbolizing claims on a pool of staked Ether (ETH). It currently boasts nearly $40 billion in total value locked (TVL), making Lido the largest DeFi protocol by TVL, as per DefiLlama data.
On the other hand, Optimism is a notable L2 network, holding around $800 million in TVL, also according to DefiLlama. Its technological framework is utilized by other L2s, including Coinbase’s Base and Uniswap’s Unichain, forming a network of interconnected L2s that Optimism refers to as the “superchain.”
Expanding Portfolio of Cryptocurrency Investment Funds
These newly launched funds are available exclusively to qualified investors and further build upon Grayscale’s suite of single-asset cryptocurrency investment offerings.
In October, Grayscale also established an investment fund centered around Aave’s governance token (AAVE).
Additionally, the company has included 35 new altcoins, such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Worldcoin (WLD), Pyth (PYTH), and Rune (RUNE), to its list of assets currently “under consideration” for future investment opportunities.
Earlier, in August, Grayscale rolled out three trusts focused on the native tokens of various protocols, such as Sky (formerly MakerDAO), Bittensor, and Sui.
As of December 11, Grayscale stands as the world’s largest crypto fund manager, overseeing nearly $35 billion in assets. The firm is particularly recognized for its Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which include the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE).
Furthermore, U.S. regulators are deliberating the potential approval of the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC), which encompasses a diverse range of cryptocurrencies and may transition into an ETF format.
In summary, Grayscale’s latest offerings reinforce its leadership in the cryptocurrency investment space, catering to the evolving needs of investors interested in becoming part of the DeFi landscape through Lido and Optimism.
