BlackRock’s staked ether ETF draws $15 million in first-day trading

BlackRock’s new staked ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund got off to a solid start Friday, pulling in more than $15 million in trading volume on its first day as Wall Street begins experimenting with yield-generating crypto ETFs.

The iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, trading under the ticker ETHB, launched with just over $100 million in assets and had already seen about $11 million in trading by early afternoon, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. By late session, trading volume had climbed to roughly $15.5 million, suggesting strong initial demand for the product.

Those numbers are considered strong for an ETF launch, market watchers say.

“BlackRock’s Staked Ether ETF launched with just over $100 million in assets and has traded about $11.1 million through early afternoon,” Seyffart said on X, calling it “a pretty good start for any ETF.”

The product marks a significant evolution in crypto exchange-traded funds. Unlike traditional spot crypto ETFs that simply track the underlying asset, ETHB will generate yield by staking ethereum, distributing most of the rewards back to investors. Staking refers to locking coins in a cryptocurrency network in return for rewards. This is losely analogous to investing in fixed income instruments like bonds.

According to the prospectus, the fund will stake between 70% and 95% of its ether holdings at any given time. About 82% of the staking rewards will be paid out to investors through monthly distributions, similar to how dividend-paying ETFs distribute income.

The remaining 18% will be allocated among the trust, custodians and staking service providers.

The fund charges a 0.25% sponsor fee, though BlackRock is offering a temporary discounted rate of 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion in assets as it seeks to attract early investors. The ETF’s launch also arrives at a moment when ether itself is attempting to stabilize after a prolonged drawdown.

ETH recently reclaimed the $2,000 level after finding strong demand around the $1,700–$1,800 range, a zone traders had been watching closely after months of persistent selling pressure.

Some analysts say the debut of staking ETFs could be part of what’s helping shift market sentiment.

“Ethereum has just reclaimed the psychological $2,000 level after a punishing structural drawdown, finding a bid at the $1,700–$1,800 demand zone,” said Wenny Cai, COO at Synfutures, in a Telegram message.

“The key mechanic right now is the reversal of a roughly $4 billion spot ETH outflow cycle, catalyzed in the last 48 hours by BlackRock’s launch of the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust,” Cai added.

ETHB is the latest addition to BlackRock’s growing digital assets ETF lineup. The firm already runs the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which launched in January 2024 and quickly became the dominant bitcoin ETF, as well as the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) introduced in July 2024.

Ethereum’s staking mechanism allows holders to lock up ETH to help secure the network in exchange for rewards, effectively creating a crypto-native yield. By packaging that yield inside an ETF wrapper, firms like BlackRock are attempting to make the structure accessible to traditional investors who cannot easily participate directly on-chain.

If staking ETFs gain traction, they may open the door to similar structures across other proof-of-stake networks — potentially turning crypto ETFs from passive exposure vehicles into income-generating financial instruments.