Staking has taken the crypto universe by storm. From Bitcoin to Avalanche, it is now the norm to profit from one’s tokens. Wall Street giants did not take long to sense the opportunity. BlackRock, with its 10 trillion dollars under management, is launching its own with a new ETF: ETHB. But this time, it’s no longer just about holding Ethereum. It’s about making it work for you. And that is a revolution.
BlackRock is no stranger to the crypto world. But ETHB marks a turning point: this ETF does not just track the price of Ethereum (ETH) . It also generates income through staking, up to 70 to 90% of the fund’s holdings. Rewards will be distributed to investors quarterly, after fees.
Custody of assets is handled by Coinbase Custody, with Anchorage Digital as an alternative. Staking is managed by third-party validators selected for their reliability. This structure gives ETHB a solid institutional backbone, unprecedented in the sector.
In the official statement, BlackRock is clear :
The Trust seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of ether and rewards from staking a portion of the Trust’s ether, to the extent the Sponsor in its sole discretion determines that the Trust may do so without incurring undue legal or regulatory risk, including, without limitation, any risk to the Trust’s qualification as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes
This product therefore aims for a dual objective: market exposure + yield generation. Enough to attract traditional investors eager for new profit sources in the crypto universe.
The main asset of ETHB? It makes Ethereum staking accessible to the general public through a simple ETF. No need to manage nodes or lock tokens. Buying a share of ETHB is enough to benefit from staking, with transparency and regulation guaranteed.
But this simplification raises criticism. The risk? A concentration of power in the hands of a few financial actors.
This phenomenon is not isolated. Grayscale launched a similar product, as did Fidelity with its ETF including staking on Solana. The crypto industry seems to accept that staking becomes an institutionalized service.
But some observers fear a divide: on one side, the promise of decentralization; on the other, the reality of a market dominated by financial giants.
This new product is not an evolution of the ETHA spot fund (already managing 11 billion dollars in ETH), but a distinct structure. Why? To avoid tax constraints that staking could generate within an existing trust.
ETHB also arrives in a political change context. Under the previous administration, the SEC opposed ETFs including staking. But the arrival of Paul Atkins at its head seems to change the situation. Several companies, including VanEck, have also resubmitted similar filings.
Thus, ETHB could set a precedent for all upcoming crypto financial products.
Recently, more than 18 billion dollars in ETH have been burned to offset the issuance of new tokens. Yet, the overall supply continues to grow . This inflation is becoming a real issue, as more actors take interest in staking. The arrival of products like ETHB could further intensify this dynamic. Ethereum is entering an era where yield and scarcity will have to coexist.