BlackRock is advancing further into digital asset investment products with a filing for the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF, its first U.S. product that offers direct staking exposure for institutional investors.
The move expands upon the firm’s existing Ethereum fund, which now exceeds $11 billion in assets, and reflects the growing market appetite for yield-generating crypto strategies.
The preliminary prospectus, dated December 5, describes a vehicle that will reflect ETH price performance while also capturing rewards from staking a portion of its holdings.
The trust will issue shares representing fractional beneficial interests in its ether assets, which will be held in custody on behalf of investors. Staking rewards, once received, are intended to enhance net asset value, though the filing cites regulatory and operational risks that could impact distribution and performance.
Multi-Custodian Structure Anchored by Coinbase and BNY Mellon
The filing outlines a layered custody and administration model. Coinbase Custody Trust Company is slated to serve as the ETH custodian, while The Bank of New York Mellon will act as cash custodian and administrator.
Anchorage Digital Bank is listed as an additional custodian, strengthening the trust’s regulated oversight and redundancy. BlackRock Fund Advisors will serve as trustee, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC is listed as the sponsor of the trust. The structure indicates a clear intention to position the product as a compliant infrastructure designed for institutional comfort and risk management.
Provider-Facilitated Staking, Not Validator Operation
Instead of running validator infrastructure directly, the trust will rely on approved third-party staking service providers. The sponsor will determine how staking is allocated based on provider performance, reliability, and reputation.
Staking operations may be executed through affiliates of the custodians or other regulated partners, with the prospectus noting both reward potential and slashing risk as material considerations for investors.
The trust intends to issue shares continuously and list on NASDAQ under the ticker “ETHB”, with creation and redemption occurring in standardized baskets of 40,000 shares.
Institutional Demand Shifts Toward Yield-Bearing Crypto Products
BlackRock’s filing indicates a strategic shift as institutional investors increasingly seek exposure beyond price-only products and toward yield-bearing, tokenized financial instruments. If approved, the ETF may help define how staking rewards are classified, a topic still evolving in U.S. regulatory circles.
The staked ETH ETF positions BlackRock at the center of this transition, reflecting its ambition to shape the next phase of digital asset adoption, one in which exposure is not merely speculative but grounded in the operational economics of blockchain networks.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Bleeds $2.7B
Meanwhile, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has logged its longest stretch of weekly withdrawals since the fund launched in January 2024, marking a sharp turn in institutional sentiment toward Bitcoin even as prices steady. Investors pulled more than $2.7 billion from the fund over the five weeks ending Nov. 28, according to data from SoSoValue.
Redemptions continued on Thursday with an additional $113 million, putting the ETF on track for a sixth consecutive week of outflows.
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