GAVA vs XRP

GAVABGrayscale Avalanche Staking ETF

XRPABitwise XRP ETF

In short

GAVA Single-token AVAX exposure with a twist: the trust stakes the coins it holds and seeks to add more Avalanche to the pile rather than pay cash out. It started life as a 2024 private placement before it ever had a Nasdaq ticker.

XRP Bitwise won the naming fight: its spot fund trades under the coin's own ticker. Underneath it is plain plumbing, XRP in cold storage at Coinbase, priced off a CME CF reference rate, one all-in 0.34% fee.

Stated mandate

GAVA The Trust seeks exposure to the value of Avalanche held by the Trust, net of operating expenses, and also seeks to obtain additional Avalanche through staking.

XRP The Fund holds spot XRP to give investors indirect exposure to XRP through exchange-traded shares.

Why people hold it

• GAVA Staking is written into the mandate, not bolted on: the trust seeks additional AVAX by staking what it holds, and those rewards accrue inside the fund.grayscale.com
• The 0.35% expense ratio sits right at the median for spot crypto funds, and within a hair of the other Avalanche fund, BAVA at 0.34%.
• The vehicle predates the ticker. It launched as a private placement in 2024 and later uplisted to Nasdaq, so the operating history runs longer than the listing does.theblock.co
• Direct spot holdings of AVAX, run by Grayscale, whose digital asset platform spans dozens of listed and private crypto products.globenewswire.com

• XRP One unitary 0.34% sponsor fee, with the sponsor covering most routine operating expenses. That undercuts Canary's XRPC (0.50%) for the same spot XRP exposure.sec.gov
• Boring by design: spot XRP only, no derivatives or leverage, held in segregated cold storage at Coinbase Custody with BNY Mellon handling administration and transfer agency.sec.gov
• NAV is struck against the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate (New York Variant), which aggregates executed trade flow from major XRP platforms instead of leaning on one venue's print.sec.gov
• Actively traded since day one, and it sits in the upper tier of US spot crypto funds on trading quality.

Worth knowing

• GAVA It is a grantor trust, not a 1940 Act fund, so the protections of a registered ETF do not apply. Grayscale flags a high degree of risk and possible loss of the entire investment.grayscale.com
• One token, one network, and nothing paid out: staking rewards go to the trust rather than to shareholders as distributions.grayscale.com
• Small asset base and light trading, which can mean wider spreads and more effort behind a large order.

• XRP One coin, one risk. Shares follow XRP and nothing else, and single-asset crypto moves are large in both directions.
• Not the cheapest ticket on the shelf: 21Shares' TOXR carries the same spot XRP exposure at 0.30%.
• Launched in November 2025, so the trading and tracking record is short, and the fund makes no distributions.

Full GAVA profile⁠

Full XRP profile⁠