Grayscale Launches New Trusts for Sui's Infrastructure Protocols: DEEP and WAL

Grayscale launches two single-asset trusts for Sui's DeepBook and Walrus protocols, giving accredited investors exposure to the network's liquidity and data layers. The move marks a shift towards investing in blockchain infrastructure over Layer 1 tokens. DEEP and WAL tokens surged 12% and 7% respectively, following the announcement.

Digital asset investment platform Grayscale has expanded its offerings with the launch of two new single-asset trusts providing exposure to Sui protocols DeepBook and Walrus. These trusts, known as the Grayscale DeepBook Trust and Grayscale Walrus Trust, invest solely in the native DEEP and WAL tokens, respectively [1].

DeepBook, a decentralized central limit order book (CLOB) built on the Sui blockchain, serves as a foundational liquidity layer for the Sui ecosystem. It facilitates token trading on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), wallets, and other applications on Sui. Walrus, on the other hand, is a blockchain-based data storage platform designed to host the massive wells of information driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools [1].

The trusts are open for daily subscription via private placement to accredited investors, marking a new avenue for institutional participation in Sui’s DeFi, social, and gaming use cases. This move signals Grayscale's shift towards investing in blockchain infrastructure over Layer 1 tokens, a trend that has been gaining traction in the digital asset market [1].

Following the announcement, DEEP and WAL tokens surged 12% and 7% respectively, reflecting investor interest in the new trusts. Grayscale's expansion into niche areas of the digital asset market aligns with its strategy to appeal to investors with an eye on a wider array of blockchain use cases [1].

Meanwhile, Circle, a stablecoin issuer, has announced the launch of Arc, a Layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin-powered use cases. Arc is built with an API-based interface to stablecoin payments, FX, and capital market applications, powered by USDC as the native gas token. The announcement came alongside Circle's first earnings report as a publicly traded company, which showed a record-setting quarter in USDC adoption and transaction volumes [2].

The Arc announcement underscores the growing importance of stablecoins in the digital asset ecosystem. With a focus on speed, security, and interoperability, Arc aims to cater to the institutional requirement of enterprise-scale financial processes. The blockchain will be open-sourced under a permissive license, allowing developers to build financial products on top of it, potentially accelerating adoption in both DeFi and traditional finance [2].

The combination of Grayscale's new trusts and Circle's Arc launch indicates an aggressive move to corner the stablecoins layer of the internet economy. Assuming the path taken by USDC is replicated, Arc has the potential to become one of the most significant blockchain platforms in the coming years [2].

References:
[1] https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/08/12/grayscale-debuts-first-investment-trusts-for-sui-s-core-protocols
[2] https://www.cryptoninjas.net/news/circle-unveils-arc-layer-1-blockchain-following-5-9t-usdc-quarter-2-earnings-report/