CT3 is preparing for the CT3GB token listing by expanding storage infrastructure, building reserves, upgrading smart contracts, and planning an independent audit.

CT3 has started comprehensive preparations for the future CT3GB token listing as it expands the CT3 Cloud ecosystem. The company is scaling data storage infrastructure, building financial and infrastructure reserves, and preparing CT3GB to become its primary settlement asset. It is also moving to a new smart contract architecture and plans an independent audit before the token reaches the public market. CT3 says these steps are intended to support further platform growth and prepare its tokenized economy before the listing.

CT3GB token listing preparations expand

Over recent months, CT3 has expanded the capabilities of its platform, according to the CT3 official website. One key milestone was the introduction of automatic backup technology. CT3 said demand for data storage services rose after that feature was implemented, while growing data volumes showed the platform could support continuous storage use cases.

The company said the next stage requires both technical and economic preparation. CT3 is expanding its storage network, adding available computing capacity, and building reserves intended to support further scaling. The Storage Contracts program forms part of that effort. CT3 views the program as a way to increase network capacity while maintaining commercial use and creating a resource buffer for future growth.

CT3GB to become primary settlement asset

Most internal CT3 operations currently use Polygon infrastructure. After CT3GB launches, the company plans to move major financial processes within the platform to its own token. CT3GB is expected to handle payments for storage services, settlements with infrastructure owners, reward distribution, and other internal transactions.

The token is designed to connect users, storage infrastructure, and services across the CT3 Cloud ecosystem. CT3 plans to use CT3GB as the primary settlement asset for internal operations. The company presents this utility as a central part of its tokenized economy, rather than positioning the token only as another payment option.

New smart contract architecture takes shape

CT3 is also changing the structure of its storage technology. The company is segmenting storage infrastructure into separate specialized smart contracts. Different products will gradually receive their own contracts, with independent limits for capacity and separate resource accounting.

According to CT3, this structure should make scaling more efficient and improve visibility into infrastructure use. It is also intended to give the company more flexibility when developing new services. Separate contracts could allow new products to grow without changing services that are already operating within the platform.

Independent audit planned before public launch

Before CT3GB enters the public market, CT3 plans to complete an independent audit of the core smart contract infrastructure. The review will cover the contracts supporting the token and key platform services. It will examine contract security, business logic, and alignment with industry standards.

CT3 considers the audit a required part of preparing its economy for public launch. The company says the review can support trust among users, partners, and cryptocurrency exchanges. Together with storage expansion, reserve building, and the new contract structure, the audit forms part of a broader plan to launch CT3GB within an ecosystem prepared for continued growth.

CT3 describes itself as a company focused on decentralized data storage. Its platform combines a distributed storage network, NFT-based access keys, automatic backup tools, and scalable smart contract architecture for individual and corporate users seeking long-term storage and digital information protection.

The company’s solutions are designed for individuals and corporate users, with services focused on secure long-term storage, backup, and protection of digital information across its decentralized infrastructure network.

Bitwise’s Solana staking ETF has received approval from a major bank for customers to borrow up to 25% of their shares’ value, adding a lending function to the U.S.-listed crypto fund.

Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley disclosed the approval in an Aug. 11 X post, saying the unnamed bank would let its customers borrow against shares of the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF under a maximum 25% loan-to-value ratio.

Horsley welcomed the bank’s decision as another step in crypto’s integration with established financial services. His post did not identify the lender or state when the borrowing facility became available.

The disclosure also omitted the interest rate, minimum loan size, repayment period, and account requirements. Neither Bitwise nor the bank has published details on whether the facility applies to retail brokerage customers, private banking clients, or selected wealth-management accounts.

BSOL loans are capped at 25% of collateral value

Under the disclosed limit, a customer pledging $100,000 of BSOL could borrow no more than $25,000. The ETF shares would serve as collateral for the loan while remaining exposed to changes in the value of Solana.

A 25% LTV leaves the bank with $75 in collateral value above every $25 lent at the start of the transaction. The lender’s unpublished agreement would determine what happens if BSOL falls, including whether the customer must add collateral, repay part of the balance, or face a sale of pledged shares.

Horsley did not say whether the bank had approved BSOL across its lending platform or only after reviewing an individual customer’s portfolio. He also did not disclose whether other Bitwise funds qualify under the same policy.

The loan is secured by exchange-traded shares rather than SOL held in a private wallet. BSOL shareholders do not control the underlying tokens or their private keys, while the bank can value the listed shares using their market price and apply its existing securities-backed lending procedures.

Unlike a sale, borrowing against shares lets an approved customer obtain cash without immediately disposing of the position. According to the Internal Revenue Service, loan proceeds generally do not count as income because borrowers must repay them, although a later sale of collateral may create a taxable transaction.

Bitwise Solana ETF combines SOL exposure with staking

Launched on NYSE Arca in October 2025, BSOL gives U.S. investors direct exposure to SOL through a publicly traded product. Bitwise also stakes nearly all of the fund’s tokens so that staking rewards increase the assets supporting its shares.

As crypto.news reported, BSOL recorded $69.45 million in net inflows on its first trading day. The fund entered the market with a 0.20% management fee and a structure designed to track SOL’s value alongside rewards generated through the Solana network.

At its launch, Horsley described the product’s two main features in a Bitwise statement:

“Investors like growth potential, and investors like staking rewards. BSOL provides low-cost exposure to both.”

Bitwise’s official fund data showed that BSOL held 8,184,971.62 SOL with a market value of $622.02 million as of Aug. 9. Each share represented about 0.136735 SOL, while the fund’s holdings consisted entirely of the token.

BSOL reported a net asset value of $10.39 per share and a market price of $10.41 on the same date. The two-cent difference placed the shares slightly above the reported value of their underlying assets.

Staking covered 99% of the fund’s SOL holdings, compared with Bitwise’s target of 100%. The gross annualized staking reward rate averaged 6.21% over the preceding 90 days, while the net rate after staking-related fees stood at 5.84%, according to data published by the fund.

Bitwise states that staking rewards can change and do not represent BSOL’s investment performance. Movement in SOL’s market price can outweigh the tokens earned from staking, leaving shareholders exposed to substantial losses even when the fund continues to earn rewards.

BSOL added capital despite Solana’s first-half decline

BSOL drew $267.1 million in net subscriptions during the first half of 2026, according to its Aug. 7 quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Share issuance lifted the fund’s SOL holdings from about 5.15 million tokens at the end of 2025 to approximately 8.05 million by June 30.

Falling SOL prices still reduced BSOL’s net assets from $641.3 million to $592.3 million over the six-month period. Its net asset value per share dropped from $16.37 to $10.01, producing a negative 38.85% NAV return for the half-year.

The filing recorded $19.2 million in gross staking rewards and approximately $17.7 million in net investment income after expenses. Portfolio losses reached about $333.8 million, including $262.9 million in unrealized depreciation and $70.9 million in realized losses.

Earlier coverage of ETF demand found that BSOL controlled roughly 81% of assets accumulated by U.S. spot Solana funds by mid-May. Combined assets across products issued by Bitwise, Fidelity, and Grayscale had reached approximately $1.06 billion, although SOL continued to fall during the period.

BSOL had already crossed $500 million in assets within its first 18 trading days, according to Bitwise. Its first recorded daily withdrawal arrived on Dec. 15, when investors removed $4.6 million after a run of inflows that began with the fund’s October debut.

U.S. investors gain another use for listed crypto funds

For American investors, the bank’s approval adds BSOL to the securities that at least one lender accepts for collateralized borrowing. The policy does not mean the SEC or another federal regulator has approved BSOL specifically for loans, and Horsley’s post did not identify any regulatory decision tied to the bank’s action.

BSOL is structured as an exchange-traded product under the Securities Act of 1933. Bitwise’s disclosures state that it is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, leaving shareholders without some protections that apply to conventional registered ETFs and mutual funds.

The fund uses Coinbase Custody Trust Company to hold its SOL, according to its SEC filing. Bitwise Onchain Solutions, supported by Helius technology, handles staking, while BNY Mellon provides cash custody and transfer-agent services.

Nasdaq has agreed to acquire LeveL Markets, the third-largest alternative trading system in the US by trading volume, as part of its push into tokenized and always-on markets.

According to Nasdaq, LeveL Markets processes hundreds of millions of shares daily and serves more than 2,500 buy- and sell-side clients. The venue will operate within Nasdaq’s new Digital Liquidity Networks unit, led by Roland Chai, who has overseen the company’s digital assets strategy since earlier this year.

Nasdaq first invested in LeveL Markets in 2021. The platform has since grown to execute trades across more than 7,000 symbols daily and serves more than 300 institutional buy-side firms, with average daily trading volume increasing 56% in 2025.

Tuesday’s announcement said LeveL Markets will remain a FINRA-regulated ATS with its own management team following the acquisition. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal remains subject to regulatory approval.

Nasdaq said the acquisition will add LeveL’s institutional execution network to its broader push toward programmable, “always-on” markets. The Digital Liquidity Networks unit combines liquidity platforms, tokenization capabilities and digital asset technology.

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Nasdaq expands push into tokenized, always-on markets

Nasdaq first proposed allowing tokenized securities to trade on its exchange in September 2025. A January 2026 SEC filing updating the proposal said eligible stocks and exchange-traded products could trade in tokenized form alongside traditional shares, with Depository Trust Company handling tokenization and blockchain-based settlement through a three-year pilot program.

In March, Nasdaq expanded its efforts with a partnership with Kraken and tokenization firm Backed to develop infrastructure linking traditional equities with blockchain networks.

Other exchange operators are also moving toward longer trading hours. Cboe and the London Stock Exchange are pursuing similar plans, while the New York Stock Exchange is developing a separate platform for 24/7 trading and onchain settlement of tokenized securities.

In July, the SEC announced a Sept. 17 roundtable on the shift toward 24-hour US equity trading, with US Securities and Exchange Commission hair Paul Atkins saying, “We are moving towards a new day – and night – in the US equity markets.”

Over the past year, the tokenized equities market has grown more than sixfold, with distributed value rising to nearly $2.5 billion today from around $381 million in August 2025, according to RWA.xyz data.

Tokenized equities. Souce: RWA.xyz

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