On Friday, BlackRock took a significant step in the cryptocurrency investment space by filing an S-1 registration statement with the SEC for a new Ethereum staking exchange-traded fund (ETF), dubbed ETHB. This innovative ETF aims to track the returns of Ethereum (ETH) while also incorporating rewards generated from the staked portion of the token holdings.
The filing distinguishes ETHB from BlackRock’s previously introduced iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), which is a spot ETF. While ETHA focuses solely on tracking Ethereum’s price movements, the new ETHB will supplement those returns with earnings from staking a portion of its ETH holdings. According to the details in the filing, “The trust is a passive investment vehicle that does not seek to generate returns beyond tracking the price of Ethereum and staking some portion of the Ethereum it holds (which may vary from time to time).”
This latest move by BlackRock arrives after the establishment of a Delaware statutory trust in November, a typical precursor for ETF filings related to crypto and commodity products. Although the firm previously sought to incorporate a staking feature into its spot Ethereum ETF, the SEC has delayed formal decisions regarding those requests multiple times, with the most recent postponement occurring in early September.
The impact of ETHB’s filing on ongoing discussions about staking enhancements for ETHA remains uncertain. A representative from BlackRock declined to comment on the specifics of the ETHB ETF filing at this time.
Ethereum staking ETFs have begun to emerge following the establishment of new generic listing standards for commodity trusts. The market saw Grayscale’s ETHE launch first in early October, subsequently followed by the REX-Osprey ETH + Staking ETF. However, these recent entries have not adversely affected the performance or popularity of BlackRock’s existing spot ETF. As of now, ETHA boasts over $11 billion in assets under management, representing approximately 3.6 million ETH, while Grayscale’s collective ETH products have attracted under $5 billion (around 1.8 million ETH).
BlackRock’s success with ETFs extends to the Bitcoin market as well, where its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) stands as the largest crypto ETF available, with around $70 billion in assets under management. In recent trading, IBIT showed a modest gain of about 1%, while Bitcoin experienced a slight decline of 1%, hovering around $90,390. Meanwhile, ETHA saw a rise of more than 3%, with Ethereum trading at approximately $3,122.
If approved, the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) is anticipated to become available for trading alongside BlackRock’s other ETFs on the Nasdaq exchange, further expanding the firm’s footprint in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
