 
 
In a bold push into on-chain yield exposure, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has officially applied to list and trade shares of an investment vehicle tied to a staked Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).
BlackRock Files For Ether Staking ETF
BlackRock submitted an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust exchange-traded fund, marking a key step in bringing staking exposure to investors.
The S-1 is part of the SEC’s process for issuers to introduce investment vehicles like ETFs, but does not guarantee approval, and the fund’s listing exchange must still file a separate 19b-4 form.
The filing comes a couple of weeks after BlackRock filed a name registration with the state of Delaware for the staking Ethereum trust ETF, signaling intent to file with the SEC soon.
Unlike BlackRock’s popular iShares Ethereum Trust spot ETF (ETHA), the staking Ethereum trust ETF, which the company intends to list and trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker ETHB, will track the performance of Ether and add rewards earned from the trust’s staked ETH.
 
“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),” the S-1 reads.
BlackRock had previously sought the SEC’s sign-off to add a staking component to ETHA. Though the Commission had acknowledged applications as early as July, it continued to delay a formal decision.
Notably, Grayscale Investments has already added a staking functionality to its previously greenlighted spot ETH and mini ETH trusts following the approval of new generic listing standards for commodity trusts, as the SEC’s stance has shifted under new Chairman Paul Atkins.
However, BlackRock has decided to launch a completely new fund while others modify their existing vehicles. ETHA remains the largest of its kind with around $16 billion in assets under management.
Meanwhile, BlackRock manages the world’s largest spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT).