{"id":13218,"date":"2026-09-14T15:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13218"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:17:25","slug":"blackrocks-staking-ethereum-etf-pays-yield-but-investors-still-prefer-its-9-billion-etha-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13218","title":{"rendered":"BlackRock\u2019s staking Ethereum ETF pays yield but investors still prefer its $9 billion ETHA fund"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Staking was supposed to strengthen Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but BlackRock\u2019s early results show investors still favor its original fund.<\/p>\n

When US spot Ethereum ETFs launched in July 2024, the absence of staking was widely identified as one of their biggest structural disadvantages. Investors buying the funds gained exposure to ETH’s price but forfeited the rewards available to holders who committed their tokens to securing the Ethereum network.<\/p>\n

At the time, JPMorgan cited the removal of staking from ETF filings as one reason it expected weaker demand than for Bitcoin funds. BitMEX Research similarly argued that institutional investors could find non-staking products less attractive, while Galaxy Digital estimated that giving up staking represented a meaningful opportunity cost for ETF investors.<\/p>\n

BlackRock now offers an early test of that argument.<\/p>\n

Its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) provides straightforward exposure to ether without staking. The newer iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) stakes part of its holdings and distributes a portion of the resulting income to shareholders.<\/p>\n

So far, adding yield has not overturned the hierarchy.<\/p>\n

ETHA held about $8.96 billion in net assets on Sept. 11, compared with roughly $1.05 billion for ETHB, BlackRock fund data show.<\/p>\n

The difference is even larger in secondary-market trading: ETHA generated an estimated $1.86 billion of share turnover that day based on volume multiplied by its closing price, roughly 30 times ETHB\u2019s $61.8 million.<\/p>\n

ETHB is also paying investors. The fund listed a distribution of $0.036487 per share payable Sept. 10 after beginning to earn staking rewards in May.<\/p>\n

Yet ETHA attracted $148.8 million of net inflows on Sept. 11, compared with $18.3 million for ETHB, Farside Investors data show.<\/p>\n

The comparison comes with an important limitation. ETHA has had substantially more time to accumulate assets, trading relationships, and institutional adoption, while ETHB is still building its track record. Its roughly $1 billion asset base also represents meaningful demand for a newer product.<\/p>\n

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Related Reading<\/span><\/p>\n

Wall Street\u2019s altcoin ETF rotation is not producing an altseason, and the old playbook may be breaking<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

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Still, ETHA\u2019s continued inflows after staking income became available challenge the stronger version of the thesis that missing yield was the main constraint on Ethereum ETF demand.<\/p>\n

Staking removes one handicap, but not ETHA\u2019s head start<\/h2>\n

ETHB removes much of the opportunity-cost problem that shaped criticism of the original Ethereum ETF structure. It cannot immediately replicate the liquidity ETHA has accumulated since becoming one of the first US spot Ethereum ETFs.<\/p>\n