STAMFORD, Conn., March 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grayscale Investments^®, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform*, today announced that Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF (Ticker: GAVA) has begun trading on NASDAQ as a new exchange-traded product (ETP).

Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF (Ticker: GAVA) seeks to provide exposure to AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche network, while also enabling participation in the network's staking process. Through staking, GAVA may earn rewards associated with participation in the network.

Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF ("GAVA" or the "Fund"), an exchange traded product, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "40 Act") and therefore is not subject to the same regulations and protections as 40 Act-registered ETFs and mutual funds. An investment in the Fund is subject to significant risk and heightened volatility. GAVA is not suitable for an investor that cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. An investment in the Fund is not a direct investment in AVAX.

Avalanche is a multi-chain smart contract platform designed to help address the common blockchain challenge of balancing scalability, security, and decentralization. Its architecture is optimized for core functions like creating and transferring digital assets, executing smart contracts, and enabling custom blockchains, called Avalanche L1s. Together, this design helps support high-throughput applications while providing a high level of configurability and control valued by enterprise and institutional users.

Avalanche utilizes a Proof of Stake consensus model, allowing AVAX token holders to delegate or validate in order to secure the network.** By incorporating staking into its investment strategy, GAVA aims to provide investors with exposure not only to the price performance of AVAX, but also to the economic activity associated with network participation.

"Investors across the market continue to seek simple ways to incorporate digital assets into their portfolios," said Inkoo Kang, Senior Vice President, ETFs, at Grayscale. "GAVA complements our existing suite of more than 40 digital asset products and provides investors with the ability to gain exposure to one of the market's leading smart contract platforms, supported by Grayscale's scale, research, and infrastructure. By integrating staking into the Fund's strategy, GAVA also enables investors to access the potential economic benefits of participating in Avalanche's Proof of Stake network through an ETP structure."

"Avalanche was designed from day one to support real-world applications at scale," said John Wu, President of Ava Labs. "Built for business, Avalanche enables financial services, enterprise platforms, and tokenized real-world assets through a customizable, flexible architecture that gives institutions the performance, security, and control needed for production deployment."

Since launching in 2020, Avalanche has evolved into a diverse, flexible ecosystem used by developers, enterprises, and institutions building applications across gaming, financial services, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). With more than 11.4 billion transactions since inception, Avalanche has demonstrated sustained network activity and continued growth and adoption.***

Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF was first launched as a private placement in August 2024 as one of the first investment vehicles enabling investors to gain exposure, and not a direct investment, to AVAX, the platform token underlying the Avalanche platform.

For additional information about GAVA please visit: https://etfs.grayscale.com/gava

About Grayscale

Grayscale is the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform* with a mission to make digital asset investing simpler and open to all investors. Founded in 2013, Grayscale has been at the forefront of bringing digital assets into the mainstream. The firm has a long history of firsts, including launching the first Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange traded products in the United States. Grayscale continues to pioneer the asset class by providing investors, advisors, and institutional allocators with exposure to more than 45 digital assets through a suite of over 40 investment products, spanning ETFs, private funds, and diversified strategies. For more information, please follow @Grayscale or visit grayscale.com.

*Largest digital asset-focused investment platform based on AUM as of December 31, 2025. For other companies in this category, AUM is considered as of most recent public disclosure.

**Avax.network as of February 23, 2026

***Explorer.avax.network as of February 23, 2026

Please read the prospectus carefully before investing in the Fund. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the Marketing Agent and Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC is the Sponsor of GAVA.

As a non-diversified and single industry fund, the value of the shares may fluctuate more than shares invested in a broader range of industries. There is no guarantee that a market for the shares will be available which will adversely impact the liquidity of the Fund. The value of the Fund relates directly to the value of Avalanche, the value of which may be highly volatile and subject to fluctuations due to a number of factors.

Extreme volatility of trading prices that many digital assets have experienced in recent months and may continue to experience, could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Fund and the shares could lose all or substantially all of their AVAX. AVAX may have concentrated ownership and large sales or distributions by holders of AVAX could have an adverse effect on the market price of such digital assets. The value of the Fund relates directly to the value of AVAX, the value of which may be highly volatile and subject to fluctuations due to a number of factors. Because the value of the Fund is correlated with the value of AVAX, it is important to understand the investment attributes of, and the market for, AVAX. Please consult with a financial professional.

When the Fund stakes AVAX, AVAX is subject to the risks attendant to staking generally. Staking requires that the Fund lock up AVAX for the period of time required by the staking protocol, meaning that the Fund cannot sell or transfer the staked AVAX, thereby making it illiquid for the period it is being staked. Staked AVAX is also subject to security breaches, network downtime or attacks, smart contract vulnerabilities, and validator or custodian failure or compromise, which can result in a complete loss of the staked AVAX or a loss of any rewards. Potential staking rewards are earned by the Fund and not issued directly to investors.

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Grayscale Avalanche Staking ETF (Ticker: GAVA) Debuts on NASDAQ with AVAX Staking Exposure