BlackRock has listed the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) on the Nasdaq. The world's largest asset manager is bringing its first crypto ETF with integrated staking yield to the US market. Under normal conditions, the product stakes 70 to 95 percent of the Ether it holds.
Resulting proceeds flow to investors as dividends. According to the prospectus, the annualized staking yield sits at approximately 3 percent. ETHB is BlackRock's third crypto ETF after the Bitcoin fund IBIT and the Ethereum spot ETF ETHA. A sponsor fee of 0.25 percent per year applies. However, BlackRock offers a reduced rate of 0.12 percent for the first twelve months or up to a volume of $2.5 billion. Coinbase handles both custody and staking coordination.
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Fees and staking mechanism in detail
Of the gross staking proceeds, 18 percent goes to BlackRock and Coinbase jointly. Investors receive the remaining 82 percent. Specifically, the ETF sells the staking rewards it receives and distributes the proceeds as dividends at least quarterly. An accumulation model, where proceeds increase the net asset value, does not apply here.
Between 5 and 30 percent of the ETH holdings deliberately remain unstaked. BlackRock refers to this buffer as a "Liquidity Sleeve." It serves to process redemptions and cover ongoing fees. Staked Ether cannot be released immediately, however. After an exit request, a withdrawability delay of approximately 27 hours follows, along with a withdrawal sweep phase of 7 to 10 days. During network congestion, this process can take weeks or even months.
In early February 2026, the activation queue on the Ethereum network stood at approximately 4 million ETH with an estimated wait time of 70 days. As a result, liquidity is not guaranteed at all times, and the Liquidity Sleeve remains a key risk mitigation measure.
Regulatory shift enables staking products
In July 2024, BlackRock launched the spot Ethereum ETF ETHA. At the time, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler had explicitly excluded staking components from the applications. His agency viewed staking as a potentially registrable securities activity.
A reversal came on May 29, 2025. The SEC Division of Corporation Finance declared that standard protocol staking does not constitute a registrable securities transaction. Under new SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the agency's stance on crypto staking has fundamentally changed. BlackRock subsequently filed the S-1 application for ETHB on December 8, 2025. In February 2026, an updated filing followed with details on the 18 percent revenue split and the staking quota of 70 to 95 percent.
Other providers such as VanEck have also submitted revised filings to integrate staking components. Still, ETHB is the first approved and launched product of its kind.
Coinbase as central infrastructure
Coinbase plays a dual role in ETHB. Through Coinbase Custody Trust Company, the exchange serves as custodian for the Ether holdings. At the same time, it acts as the Prime Execution Agent for staking coordination. Both functions therefore reside with a single US-regulated provider. Figment also serves as an additional institutional validator partner.
This concentration on Coinbase raises questions about decentralization. Coinbase already ranks among the largest validator operators on the Ethereum network. Should ETHB attract significant inflows, Coinbase's share of total staking capacity could grow further. A portion of the 18 percent revenue split flows directly to Coinbase. Yet the exact allocation between BlackRock and Coinbase remains undisclosed.
BlackRock's growing crypto dominance
BlackRock now manages approximately $130 billion in crypto-related ETPs, tokenized liquidity funds, and stablecoin reserve management. Its Bitcoin ETF IBIT holds over $55 billion in assets under management. ETHA accounts for approximately $6.5 billion. In 2025, BlackRock captured roughly 95 percent of all inflows into digital asset ETPs. By this measure, the asset manager is by far the largest institutional player in the crypto market.
ETHB targets a specific gap. Investors who wanted to hold Ether through regulated products previously had to forgo staking yield. Direct ETH holders could stake their coins and earn approximately 3 percent per year, while ETF investors could not. BlackRock now closes this gap with ETHB. This creates an additional incentive for institutional investors to switch to the regulated product.
"Some investors who already hold ETH directly have staked their coins and were not willing to switch to an exchange-traded product because they would have lost that feature." - Jay Jacobs, U.S. Head of Equity ETFs, BlackRock
In parallel, institutional staking infrastructure is expanding. Bitwise acquired the staking provider Attestant in November 2024 with approximately $4 billion in staked assets. Simultaneously, the company launched Bitwise Onchain Solutions (BOS). In February 2026, the acquisition of Chorus One followed with an additional $2.2 billion. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation now also uses BOS open-source tools. It deployed the infrastructure in early March 2026 for staking approximately 70,000 ETH from its treasury, valued at around $140 million.
