CryptoSlate
BlackRock's staking-enabled Ethereum ETF is paying out, yet investors continue to flow overwhelmingly into the firm's original, non-staking fund. The iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) held about $8.96 billion in net assets on September 11, compared with roughly $1.05 billion for the newer iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), BlackRock fund data show. Secondary-market turnover tells the same story: ETHA generated an estimated $1.86 billion of share turnover that day, roughly 30 times ETHB's $61.8 million.
Yield is real but small. ETHB listed a distribution of $0.036487 per share payable September 10 after starting to earn staking rewards in May. On September 11, ETHA still attracted $148.8 million of net inflows versus $18.3 million for ETHB, according to Farside Investors data.
Why it matters
The comparison is the first hard test of a thesis floated since US spot Ethereum ETFs launched in July 2024: that the absence of staking was the structural handicap capping demand relative to spot Bitcoin funds. JPMorgan, BitMEX Research, and Galaxy Digital all warned the forgone yield could suppress flows. BlackRock has now run the experiment, and ETHA's continued dominance, even after ETHB began distributing staking income, argues against the strong version of that thesis. Missing yield was a real cost, but it was not the main constraint on Ethereum ETF demand; first-mover liquidity, distribution relationships, and institutional comfort with the incumbent product appear to matter more.
ETHB does remove much of the opportunity-cost problem. About 75.85% of its ether was classified as staked as of September 10, with the remaining 24.15% held back for redemptions. BlackRock reduced the staking fee to 10% of gross staking consideration in an April prospectus supplement, down from 18%. A temporary sponsor-fee waiver cuts the headline 0.25% charge to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion of assets for 12 months beginning March 12.
Frequently asked questions
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Why is ETHA still attracting more inflows than BlackRock's staking ETHB?
ETHA had a multi-month head start to build liquidity and institutional relationships, and on September 11 it held $8.96B in net assets versus $1.05B for ETHB. That scale gap translates into roughly 30 times more secondary-market turnover, giving institutions materially more capacity to enter and exit larger positions…
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How much yield is ETHB actually distributing to investors?
ETHB listed a distribution of $0.036487 per share payable September 10, after beginning to earn staking rewards in May. About 75.85% of its ether was classified as staked as of September 10, with the remaining 24.15% held back for fund operations and redemptions.
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What fees do investors pay on BlackRock's staking Ethereum ETF?
ETHB carries a 0.25% annual sponsor fee, temporarily waived to 0.12% on its first $2.5B of assets for 12 months from March 12, plus a 10% staking fee deducted from gross staking rewards. The sponsor fee applies to fund assets, while the staking fee applies only to rewards generated from Ethereum's proof-of-stake…
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Does this data disprove the thesis that missing staking hurt Ethereum ETF demand?
It weakens the strong version of that thesis but does not disprove it. ETHB does remove much of the opportunity-cost problem, and its $1B AUM is meaningful for a newer product. However, ETHA continuing to dominate even after ETHB began distributing yield suggests liquidity and incumbency outweigh forgone staking…
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What signal would show investors are actually rotating from ETHA to ETHB?
A sustained period of ETHB creations accompanied by ETHA redemptions would be the clearest evidence. Current flow data only shows creations and redemptions at the fund level, not whether a single investor is selling ETHA to buy ETHB. Until that pattern emerges, the two products appear to be attracting different…
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