VanEck has submitted an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the VanEck Lido Staked ETH ETF, marking the first U.S. ETF to reference stETH (staked Ethereum via the Lido protocol). This fund is designed to provide investors with regulated exposure to Ethereum staking, closely mirroring Ethereum's staking economics while offering daily liquidity and transparent on-chain backing.
The ETF will hold stETH, benefiting from Lido's extensively audited smart contracts, deep secondary-market liquidity, and integrations with leading custodians and exchanges. Liquid staking eliminates the need for issuers to hold idle ETH for redemptions, as stETH can be redeemed or traded without Ethereum withdrawal delays, enabling efficient management of creations and redemptions while maintaining continuous exposure to Ethereum's staking economy.
Kean Gilbert, Head of Institutional Relations at Lido Ecosystem Foundation, emphasized the significance: "The filing signals growing recognition that liquid staking is an essential part of Ethereum's infrastructure. Lido protocol's stETH has shown that decentralization and institutional standards can coexist, providing a foundation the broader market can build on." Since its launch, staking users have earned over $2 billion in staking rewards through Lido, which now has a total value locked (TVL) of nearly $40 billion, accounting for about one-third of all staked Ethereum.
The filing follows the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance clarifying that standard liquid staking activities—including issuance, redemption, and secondary trading of staking receipt tokens—do not constitute securities transactions under administrative parameters. This guidance provided a clearer regulatory foundation for products like the VanEck ETF.
However, the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, the longest in history, has delayed SEC processes, including reviews for other ETF proposals like six XRP ETFs and filings from 21Shares for leveraged products. Analysts expect that once the government reopens, the SEC will quickly address the backlog, potentially boosting crypto market activity and altcoin trading volumes. Meanwhile, Lido's native token, LDO, broke out of a descending channel on the 4-hour chart after the news, signaling a potential bullish shift, with key resistance levels around $2.70.
In a broader context, institutions are expanding staking services, such as Sygnum Bank's new validator service in Abu Dhabi and a16z's investment in Jito to enhance liquid staking on Solana, reflecting a trend toward regulated, institutional-grade staking infrastructure.
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