On November 19, 2025, BlackRock took a significant step toward launching a novel financial product by registering the “iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF” in Delaware. This move signals the asset manager’s intent to create an Ethereum ETF that not only tracks the price of Ether but also allows investors to earn rewards through staking, potentially offering a “total return” product that combines growth with income.
A Procedural Step Amidst a Competitive Race
This Delaware registration is an essential administrative foundation but is not yet a formal application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For the fund to become a reality, BlackRock must still file a detailed S-1 registration statement with the SEC, a step that the company has not yet taken and for which it has not provided a public timeline.
BlackRock’s initiative is part of a growing trend among major financial institutions. This development follows VanEck’s registration of a similar trust tied to Lido’s staked ETH in early October 2025. Furthermore, other firms like Grayscale, Fidelity, and 21Shares have also filed to add staking features to their own Ethereum products, indicating a broad industry push to bring yield-bearing crypto assets to the institutional market.
Enhancing the Ethereum Investment Proposition
The key differentiator for a staked ETF is its potential to generate yield. Unlike BlackRock’s existing spot Ethereum ETF (ETHA), which launched in 2024 and has gathered over $13 billion in assets without a staking feature, the proposed fund would put the underlying Ether to work. By participating in Ethereum’s proof-of-stake validation mechanism, the fund could earn staking rewards, which currently offer an annual yield of approximately 3.95%. This transforms the investment from a purely directional bet on Ether’s price into an income-generating asset, which could be particularly attractive to yield-focused institutional investors.
According to BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, the introduction of staking features across the ETF landscape could attract a substantial $10 to $20 billion in new capital by mid-2026. Such inflows would not only benefit the funds but could also have a profound impact on the Ethereum network itself by locking up a significant share of the ETH supply, potentially affecting market liquidity and long-term valuation.
The Regulatory Path Forward
The primary hurdle for this and all other proposed staked ETFs remains regulatory approval. In the first wave of spot Ethereum ETF launches in 2024, the SEC explicitly required issuers to remove staking functionality, citing concerns that certain staking services could constitute unregistered securities offerings. The regulatory body’s stance on this specific feature will be the critical factor determining the commercial viability of BlackRock’s new trust.
Issuers seeking to include staking must provide detailed plans to the SEC addressing key operational concerns, including how they will select validators, track rewards for investors, and manage the risks associated with locked ETH, such as potential slashing penalties. The market now watches closely to see if the SEC’s position has evolved sufficiently to allow this next generation of crypto ETFs to come to market.
