Grayscale Investments, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform, has expanded its offerings with the launch of two new single-asset trusts. These trusts are linked to the Sui blockchain ecosystem, providing investors with exposure to the DEEP and WAL tokens, which are native to the DeepBook and Walrus protocols. The announcement, made on August 12, 2025, signals a strategic move towards offering more granular investment opportunities within the burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

The newly launched trusts are named Grayscale DeepBook Trust and Grayscale Walrus Trust. They function similarly to Grayscale's other single-asset investment trusts, focusing solely on holding DEEP and WAL tokens, respectively. This allows accredited individual and institutional investors to gain direct exposure to the performance of these tokens through daily private placement subscriptions. However, Grayscale has cautioned that there is no guarantee that these products will be approved for secondary market trading, following the model of its other single-asset offerings.

Sui, the Layer 1 blockchain developed by Mysten Labs, is designed for high performance, low fees, and seamless user experiences. It employs a unique approach to parallel transaction processing and utilizes the Move programming language, which facilitates more efficient and secure smart contract development. DeepBook and Walrus are two core protocols native to Sui that aim to enhance decentralized finance (DeFi), social, and gaming applications within the ecosystem.

DeepBook is a native central limit order book (CLOB) built on the Sui blockchain. It serves as the foundational liquidity layer for DeFi applications within the ecosystem, offering functionality similar to established exchange platforms but within the crypto space. DeepBook minimizes latency, enhances price execution, and streamlines the development of DeFi platforms, enabling fast, permissionless trading at scale and with levels of efficiency that meet institutional standards.

Walrus, on the other hand, is a global data layer for on-chain builders. It is designed to address the need for scalable and privacy-focused data storage and sharing across various decentralized applications. While native to Sui, Walrus is chain-agnostic and can store data from any blockchain, making it suitable for use cases such as gaming and social platforms.

Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Head of Product & Research at Grayscale, stated that the DeepBook and Walrus Trusts offer investors exposure to two key protocols driving innovation within the Sui ecosystem. She emphasized that these protocols provide infrastructure designed for high-performance on-chain liquidity and data, which helps power the next wave of scalable, real-world blockchain applications. Adeniyi Abiodun, Co-Founder and CPO at Mysten Labs, hailed the launches as a "seminal moment" in the journey of the Sui ecosystem, noting that they provide crucial infrastructure for the broader blockchain ecosystem.

The launch of these trusts reflects a strategic shift in institutional crypto strategy, with a focus on the infrastructure enabling blockchain adoption over speculative token plays. While most asset managers focus on Layer 1 tokens, Grayscale is targeting the protocols that address real-world bottlenecks: DeepBook for institutional-grade liquidity and Walrus for scalable on-chain data storage.

Grayscale already offers a trust for the SUI token itself. The addition of the DeepBook and Walrus trusts signals a broader institutional commitment to the Sui network. This move could encourage more developers, users, and investors to engage with the platform, potentially strengthening network activity and token utility.

The launch of the trusts coincided with notable price activity for both tokens. As of August 12, 2025, the WAL token traded around $0.43, showing an increase of approximately 7% in the past 24 hours, with a market capitalization of $559 million. The DEEP token is trading at $0.15 with a market cap of $372 million.

Grayscale cautioned that both protocols are relatively new and carry risks, including extreme token price volatility and potential technical issues.