BlackRock’s staked Ethereum ETF sees $15.5M volume on debut

The iShares Staked Ethereum Trust will distribute staking rewards on a monthly basis from institutional-grade Ethereum validators run by Figment, Galaxy Digital and Attestant.

BlackRock’s staked Ethereum exchange-traded fund has tallied $15.5 million in trading volume on its first trading day, which a market analyst described as “very, very solid” despite falling short of two similar Solana staking products that launched last year.

Nasdaq data shows the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) had 592,804 shares traded on its debut on Thursday, with Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noting on X that the product turned over around $15.5 million.

“Very, very solid for a day 1 ETF launch,” Seyffart said.

The ETF invests and stakes Ether (ETH), locking up the tokens on the blockchain with the aim of providing a yield. The fund relies on network validators to capture staking rewards, typically offering a yield of 4% annually.

ETHB’s $15.5 million in debut trading volume trailed similar staking funds tied to the Solana (SOL) token, including the $55.4 million in volume recorded by the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) when it debuted in October. Another similar fund, the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF (SSK), also recorded $33.7 million on its debut in July.

ETHB adds to BlackRock’s crypto product lineup, which includes its two flagship crypto funds, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA). 

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The two ETFs have respectively attracted over $62.8 billion and $11.9 billion worth of inflows since launching in 2024, Farside Investors data shows.

BlackRock is also looking to offer a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which would sell covered call options on Bitcoin futures, collecting premiums to generate yield. 

ETHB is backed by 80% staked Ether and 20% Ether, according to BlackRock’s website. It launched with $106.7 million in net assets, which is being custodied by Coinbase.

Staking rewards will be distributed on a monthly basis and will be obtained from Ethereum network validators run by Figment, Galaxy Digital and Bitwise-owned Attestant.

ETHB offers a 0.25% sponsor fee with a one-year waiver, reducing the fee to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion assets under management.

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Source: CoinTelegraph