Asset management firm VanEck has submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Lido Staked Ethereum ETF, marking the first such filing of its kind. The application, dated October 16, 2025, aims to list on the Cboe BZX Exchange and will track the spot price of Lido Staked ETH (stETH) based on MarketVector’s LDO Staked Ethereum Benchmark Rate index.
If approved, the ETF would provide investors with regulated exposure to both Ethereum (ETH) and staking rewards earned through Lido Finance, the largest decentralized staking protocol. VanEck, with $133 billion in assets under management, had previously hinted at this move by filing a statutory trust registration in Delaware. The firm's earlier attempt involved integrating JitoSOL, a liquid staking token on the Solana blockchain, about two months ago.
Lido’s protocol allows users to stake ETH without running validator nodes, issuing stETH as a liquid staking token that represents deposited ETH and staking yield. DeFiLlama data shows that 8.49 million ETH, worth over $33.37 billion, is staked on Lido, accounting for 59.88% of the market. The SEC’s updated Generic Listing Standards, which took effect earlier, could reduce the approval timeline for such ETFs from 240 days to 75 days under the Securities Act of 1933.
Following the announcement, Lido’s native token LDO surged by 7%, reflecting positive market sentiment, while stETH experienced a 5.73% price dip to $3,775.13 within 24 hours, despite a 17.24% increase in trading volume to $84.46 million. Market analysts suggest that institutional demand for regulated staked ETH access could reshape liquidity dynamics and capital allocations in Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake ecosystem.
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