30s Summary
Grayscale Investments has created two new investment funds linked to Lido and Optimism governance tokens, Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust. These funds provide investors with exposure to Ethereum’s widely used liquid staking token protocol and a popular layer-2 scaling solution. The products allow investors access to protocols that enhance Ethereum’s efficiency and scope. Lido and Optimism have almost $40 billion and $800 million in total value locked (TVL) respectively. This move allows accredited investors to expand their Grayscale’s single-asset crypto investment products.
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Grayscale Investments has started two new investment funds tied to the governance tokens of Lido and Optimism, known as LDO and OP. These funds, Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust, provide investors with exposure to the tokens used in Ethereum’s largest liquid staking token protocol and a popular layer-2 scaling solution, respectively.
Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, the head honcho of product and research at Grayscale, said that Lido is paving the way for distributed staking on Ethereum. At the same time, Optimism plays a huge role in helping Ethereum compete with new and faster layers 1 blockchains. According to Sharif-Askary, these trusts can help investors tap into protocols that boost Ethereum’s efficiency, security, scalability, and adoption within the wider DeFi ecosystem.
For a bit of background, Lido acts as an LST protocol that issues tradable tokens backed by a pool of staked Ether. According to DefiLlama, Lido controls almost $40 billion in total value locked (TVL), which makes it the biggest DeFi protocol by TVL. Meanwhile, Optimism is a well-liked layer-2 network with about $800 million in TVL. The platform’s tech stack is used by Coinbase’s Base and Uniswap’s Unichain, creating a network of interlinked layer-2 platforms that Optimism calls the “superchain.”
The release of these funds lets qualified investors add more to their Grayscale’s single-asset crypto investment products. Last year, Grayscale launched an investment fund for Aave’s governance token, AAVE, and added 35 crypto altcoins to the list of potential future investment products.
Over the years, Grayscale has launched several trusts to invest in the native protocol tokens of various platforms. As of December 11, the company, which is known for its Bitcoin and ETH exchange-traded funds, managed almost $35 billion in assets, making it the largest crypto fund manager globally. It is currently waiting for U.S. regulators to consider approving its Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which includes various cryptocurrencies, as an ETF.