Ethereum ETF issuers push to reintroduce staking as SEC shifts stance

Issuers are reconsidering staking as part of Ethereum exchange-traded funds as the Securities and Exchange Commission adopts a new approach under President Donald Trump.

Amid a wave of crypto exchange-traded fund filings, the Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged another bid to reintroduce staking as a component of spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds.

“The ether staked by the Sponsor on behalf of the Trust will consist exclusively of ether owned by the Trust,” said a filing submitted by Cboe BZX Exchange on behalf of 21Shares for the firm’s 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF. 

The inclusion of staking in exchange-traded funds was widely discussed last year when issuers submitted applications to list and trade Ethereum funds on U.S. national exchanges.

Expectations that Ethereum staking would be allowed in exchange-traded funds diminished after the Securities and Exchange Commission, under former chair Gary Gensler, opposed the idea. Agency staff instructed all prospective spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund issuers to remove staking-related language from their applications.

The directive aligned with Gensler’s stance that proof-of-stake tokens should be classified as securities and that staking services must register with the agency to operate legally.

Gensler’s departure and President Trump’s return to Washington marked a shift in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach. The agency’s Crypto Task Force, established by acting chair Mark Uyeda, recently met with Jito Labs and Multicoin Capital to discuss staking in Ethereum ETFs.

The outcome of these discussions remains unclear. However, the agency has acknowledged at least two filings for public comment on whether to permit Ethereum staking in Wall Street ETFs. Last week, NYSE Arca proposed greenlighting staking in Grayscale’s Ethereum exchange-traded fund suite, signaling a renewed push for staking inclusion in regulated investment products.