Grayscale Unveils Lido DAO and Optimism Trusts, Expanding Ethereum Ecosystem Investment Options

Grayscale Investments has announced the launch of two new crypto investment products: the Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust. These products were introduced on December 12, 2024, and are designed to provide investors with direct exposure to the price performance of Lido DAO (LDO) and Optimism (OP), two projects that are integral to enhancing Ethereum’s functionality.

Both Lido and Optimism are projects focused on improving Ethereum’s scalability and staking capabilities. Lido allows users to participate in staking on Ethereum, helping to democratize the staking process, while Optimism contributes to Ethereum’s scalability by providing Layer 2 solutions that help the network handle more transactions more efficiently.

The new Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Optimism Trust are now available for daily subscriptions from eligible accredited investors, which include both individual and institutional investors. This move expands Grayscale’s range of investment products aimed at capturing the growing Ethereum ecosystem.

This launch follows the performance of other recent Grayscale products, including the Grayscale Sui Trust, XRP Trust, and Aave Trust, which have shown impressive returns in 2024—428%, 321%, and 92%, respectively—far outperforming the broader crypto market, which has seen an average return of 60%.

In addition to these new individual trusts, both Lido DAO and Optimism are already part of Grayscale’s sector-specific investment products. Lido DAO is categorized under the Financials Crypto Sector, while Optimism is placed in the Smart Contract Platforms Crypto Sector.

Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale’s head of product & research, highlighted the importance of these projects, stating that Lido is helping democratize Ethereum staking and Optimism is essential for Ethereum’s scalability, enabling it to compete with newer Layer 1 blockchains. This expansion provides further opportunities for investors to gain exposure to the evolving Ethereum network.