Asset managers are moving quickly to integrate staking into regulated crypto investment products. 21Shares has officially rebranded its existing Polkadot exchange-traded fund as the Polkadot Staking ETF and registered the new ticker TDOT with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. The changes took effect on August 27.
The fund directly holds spot DOT tokens and will stake between 40% and 95% of its holdings through validators. Staking yields will be distributed to shareholders on a quarterly basis, giving investors a regulated way to earn passive income from Polkadot exposure without managing validators themselves.
In a parallel development, Bitwise, VanEck, and Grayscale have collectively staked approximately 70% of the assets held in their spot AVAX exchange-traded funds. The products trade under the tickers BAVA, VAVX, and GAVA and launched in the first half of this year. Grayscale’s GAVA leads the group with about 81% of its fund assets staked as of the end of August.
The ETF sponsors initially did not include staking in their strategies, but they amended their S-1 filings as regulatory clarity improved. The updated disclosures provide detailed information about staking risks, including validator slashing and liquidity constraints. For investors, staking within an ETF structure offers convenience and potential yield that can help offset management fees and enhance overall performance.
Both cases highlight a broader trend in the crypto ETF space: issuers are increasingly seeking to differentiate products by combining spot exposure with staking rewards. This convergence of traditional finance and blockchain technology could make staking a standard feature in digital asset funds, provided regulators continue to accept the practice.
