Grayscale Investments has reshuffled its multi-asset crypto funds for Q3 2025, adding Aerodrome Finance (AERO) and Story (IP) while removing MakerDAO (MKR) from its DeFi portfolio.
The quarterly rebalancing, executed on Oct. 3, reflects a growing investor shift toward Base ecosystem protocols and AI-driven blockchain projects, signaling how the crypto market’s focus continues to evolve beyond traditional DeFi.
🪙 Grayscale Expands Exposure to Base and AI Tokens
According to data from Grayscale and CoinDesk Indices, the updates affected three of the company’s flagship products:
- Grayscale Decentralized Finance Fund (DEFG)
- Grayscale Smart Contract Platform Fund (SCF)
- Grayscale Decentralized AI Fund (AIF)
These funds are designed to give institutional and accredited investors diversified exposure to key segments of the crypto economy from DeFi protocols to emerging AI-integrated blockchain networks.
💧 Aerodrome Replaces MakerDAO in the DeFi Fund
The biggest change this quarter came in the DeFi Fund, where Grayscale sold off MakerDAO (MKR) and redirected those proceeds into Aerodrome Finance (AERO) a fast-growing decentralized exchange (DEX) built on Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 network.
After the adjustment, the updated DEFG portfolio now includes:
- Uniswap (UNI) – 32.3%
- Aave (AAVE) – 28.1%
- Ondo (ONDO) – 19.1%
- Lido (LDO) – 7.0%
- Curve (CRV) – 6.9%
- Aerodrome (AERO) – 6.6%
The inclusion of Aerodrome signals rising institutional interest in Base-based DeFi protocols particularly those prioritizing liquidity incentives, yield generation, and cross-chain accessibility.
⚙️ Smart Contract Fund Adjusts Weightings
The Smart Contract Platform Fund (SCF) did not add or remove any assets this quarter but instead rebalanced internal weightings to reflect market performance and index criteria.
The portfolio continues to feature Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Sui (SUI), and Hedera (HBAR) maintaining exposure to leading Layer-1 and Layer-2 smart contract ecosystems while fine-tuning allocations to match market dynamics.
🤖 Story Joins AI Fund as the Sector Gains Traction
Grayscale’s Decentralized AI Fund (AIF) saw the addition of Story (IP) an emerging AI-driven blockchain project focused on narrative content and infrastructure for decentralized applications.
Following the update, the AIF portfolio now holds:
- NEAR Protocol (NEAR) – 25.8%
- Bittensor (TAO) – 22.1%
- Story (IP) – 21.5%
- Render (RNDR) – 12.9%
- Filecoin (FIL) – 11.4%
- The Graph (GRT) – 6.2%
Story’s inclusion underscores Grayscale’s growing focus on AI-integrated Web3 ecosystems, where machine learning meets decentralized infrastructure a theme gaining momentum throughout 2025.
📈 Reflecting Broader Market Trends
Grayscale’s Q3 rebalancing highlights how investor priorities are evolving in real time:
- DeFi portfolios are shifting from legacy protocols toward Base-native platforms like Aerodrome.
- AI and data projects are gaining traction as new narratives drive capital toward decentralized computing and content networks.
The firm noted that all portfolio updates follow strict index methodology to maintain transparency and compliance. As passive investment vehicles, Grayscale’s funds are required to align with regulated index standards while offering indirect exposure to key blockchain sectors.
🧩 The Bigger Picture
Grayscale’s latest rebalance shows that even in a maturing market, the digital asset landscape remains dynamic. The addition of Aerodrome and Story marks a shift toward next-generation projects built on scalable, AI-integrated, and liquidity-focused ecosystems areas that could define the next phase of crypto innovation.
As the company continues to refine its portfolios, Grayscale remains a bellwether for where institutional crypto capital is heading next.
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