Grayscale Launches Crypto Model Portfolios for Financial Advisors

Four models target different parts of the digital-asset market

Digital Assets Core Plus is intended as a broad foundational strategy combining established digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Chainlink. Digital Assets Leaders is designed to hold the five largest eligible digital assets available through Grayscale’s single-asset exchange-traded product lineup, meaning its composition can change as eligible assets move through market-cap rankings.

Digital Assets Next Gen excludes Bitcoin and may hold up to 10 established or emerging crypto assets. As of August 31, 2026, the model held seven funds. Digital Assets Infrastructure targets protocols supporting areas such as smart contracts, tokenization and other blockchain applications.

Grayscale applies market-cap weighting across the models, with larger qualifying assets generally receiving larger allocations subject to eligibility rules and a 40% maximum target weighting for a single asset. The portfolios are scheduled to rebalance quarterly, although market movements can push actual weights beyond target limits between rebalancing dates.

Next Gen demonstrated that effect because Ether had risen above the stated target ceiling by the end of August. Its holdings were concentrated primarily in Ether, XRP and Solana:

Ether, XRP and Solana together accounted for approximately 89% of the model, leaving about 11% for Hyperliquid, Chainlink, Avalanche and Sui. Individual weights for Chainlink, Avalanche and Sui were not provided in the source information and are therefore not assigned here. The associated Grayscale Hyperliquid fund had listed in June 2026.

The Next Gen model began its tracked performance period on July 27, 2026, and had generated a 30.69% net return since that date. The available performance period covered only about five weeks and largely reflected one strong August, leaving longer-period return fields unavailable at the time of the launch coverage.

Grayscale had already been widening the pool of assets it could potentially use across its products. During January 2026, the company assessed 36 tokens for possible future investment products across categories including smart-contract platforms, financial applications, artificial intelligence, consumer projects, utilities and services.

Model access does not remove underlying product costs

Grayscale does not charge recipients or their clients a separate advisory or model fee for using the portfolios. The investment products held inside the models still carry their own sponsor fees and other potential expenses, with the average fee of the underlying funds estimated at approximately 0.23%.

Some models may also contain products sponsored by a Grayscale affiliate that collects sponsor fees and certain staking-related charges. Investors obtain exposure through exchange-traded products rather than by directly holding the cryptocurrencies, bringing additional considerations such as trading costs, tracking differences, custody arrangements and the trading-hour limits of traditional markets while crypto assets themselves trade continuously.

Exchange-traded product shares can also trade at premiums or discounts to the value of their underlying crypto assets. An Investor.gov bulletin dated September 9, 2024, characterized spot Bitcoin and Ether products as exchange-traded commodity trusts rather than investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and described Bitcoin and Ether as highly speculative investments.

XRP weighting stands out despite mixed fund performance

XRP price was near $1.42 at the time of the September launch coverage and had risen roughly 5% on the day, while the asset ranked fifth by market value. The Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, however, was 38.51% below its launch price.

The trust had also sold $180 million of tokens during the first half of 2026 at a realized loss, according to information cited from an August report. Across Next Gen more broadly, six of its seven funds were trading below their respective starting prices even though the overall model had posted a positive return over its much shorter tracked period.

The model’s structure means its number of holdings does not translate into evenly distributed exposure. The bulk of its performance sensitivity rests with its largest positions, while Hyperliquid, Chainlink, Avalanche and Sui collectively make up a much smaller portion of the allocation.