BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has submitted an updated application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) that includes staking functionality. The proposed fund, named the "iShares Staked Ethereum ETF," will trade under the ticker symbol $ETHB.
The filing, made public on Tuesday, reveals key financial details. The ETF will carry an annual expense ratio of 0.25% to cover management and operational costs. More notably, it outlines a revenue-sharing model for the staking rewards generated by the fund's assets. According to the model, 18% of the gross staking return will be allocated as fees. This portion will be shared between the fund's sponsor (BlackRock) and its service providers, including Coinbase, which is named as the ETF's prime execution agent.
The remaining 82% of the staking rewards will be retained within the fund, thereby contributing to the net asset value and providing indirect returns to investors. The annualized staking yield was estimated at around 2.8% at the time of the filing.
The application states that the fund will stake between 70% and 95% of its Ether holdings. This range is designed to maintain sufficient liquidity to honor investor redemption requests without causing the ETF's shares to trade at significant premiums or discounts to their net asset value (NAV).
This move marks a significant evolution from the first wave of spot Ethereum ETFs approved by the SEC in early 2025, which notably excluded staking features. The regulatory pathway for such products was clarified in May 2025 when the SEC issued guidance indicating that certain staking products are not considered securities.
BlackRock's existing Ethereum ETF, ETHA, already holds over $9.1 billion in assets under management (AUM), dominating the market. Grayscale's ETHE is a distant second with about $2.3 billion in AUM. The new ETHB fund is positioned to potentially become the largest Ethereum ETF, leveraging BlackRock's massive distribution network.
The filing highlights the competitive landscape, noting that Grayscale's ETHE and ETH funds already generate yield via staking, and other asset managers like VanEck have also filed for similar staked Ethereum ETFs.
