BlackRock has launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ticker: ETHB) on Nasdaq, marking a significant expansion of crypto investment products by the world's largest asset manager. The fund began trading on Thursday, March 12, 2026, and represents BlackRock's third crypto ETF and its first to incorporate on-chain staking.
The ETHB ETF holds spot ether (ETH) and stakes a portion of those holdings directly on the Ethereum network. This dual approach allows investors to gain exposure to ether's price movements while also potentially earning staking rewards, which function similarly to yield in traditional finance. "This is really about investor choice," said Jay Jacobs, BlackRock's U.S. head of equity ETFs, in an interview with CoinDesk. He noted that while the firm's existing iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) has developed liquidity, some investors seek to maximize total returns by combining price exposure with staking rewards.
The launch addresses a gap in the market, as most existing ether ETFs have offered only price exposure without staking capabilities. Jacobs explained that this gap had discouraged some crypto-native investors from moving assets into ETFs: "Some investors who already hold ether directly were staking it and weren't ready to move into an exchange-traded product because they would lose that feature." By incorporating staking, the ETF allows investors to retain staking benefits while gaining the operational advantages of an ETF structure, including institutional-grade custody, trading through traditional brokerage accounts, and easier integration into standard portfolio allocations.
The fund carries a standard sponsor fee of 0.25%, but BlackRock is waiving part of this cost for the first year, reducing it to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion in assets. Jacobs stated this temporary discount is intended to help the product gain traction in its early months.
BlackRock expects demand for ETHB to come from a wide range of investors, including individual traders, financial advisors, and institutional allocators such as hedge funds and family offices. Jacobs highlighted the appeal for institutions seeking cash-flow-generating assets: "For some institutions, when they evaluate an investment, they want to think about it from a cash flow perspective." Staking rewards may help make ether more comparable to other income-producing assets in portfolio models.
BlackRock has rapidly become a dominant force in crypto investment products. The firm oversees approximately $130 billion across crypto-related exchange-traded products, tokenized liquidity funds, and stablecoin reserve management. According to the company, its iShares brand captured about 95% of flows into digital asset ETPs in 2025. Its existing iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) now manages over $55 billion in assets, while the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) holds about $6.5 billion.
Despite this growth, Jacobs noted that allocations to digital assets in traditional portfolios remain relatively small, typically in the "low single digits" (around 1% to 2%). At these levels, he argued, the risk contribution from bitcoin or ether can be comparable to the exposure investors already accept from large technology stocks within diversified portfolios.
Looking ahead, Jacobs said BlackRock remains focused on expanding adoption of its existing crypto products, particularly bitcoin and ether ETFs. "We're still in the early days of digital asset ETF adoption," he concluded. "For many investors, this is the first step."
