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ETF Ethereum: the SEC evaluates staking. Is ETH ready to BOOM?
By Davide Grammatica
Cboe BZX has asked the SEC to approve ETH staking on behalf of 21Shares, one of the issuers of Ethereum spot ETFs
Does this change everything for Ethereum?
The evolution of ETFs in the USA breaks through another obstacle regarding the adoption of crypto in tradFi products. Or at least, that’s how it could be, according to the latest initiative of 21Shares which, with the support of the Cboe BZX exchange, has requested SEC approval for staking ETH held in support of its Ethereum spot ETF.
NEW: I believe this is the first ETF to file with the SEC and request the ability to permit Staking. @21Shares pic.twitter.com/fZIqDcd7PE
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) February 12, 2025
In other words, they are requesting the possibility to stake the ETH of the ETF itself, allowing investors to obtain an additional reward from their investment.
Obviously, issuers had already considered this in the past, but the issue had been the subject of negotiations with the SEC under the chairmanship of Gary Gensler, who had sacrificed this possibility in exchange for the approval of applications for new ETH spot ETFs. Staking was, in fact, considered a violation of federal laws on financial assets, which also forced several CEXs, such as Coinbase and Kraken, to clash several times with the regulatory authorities.
A new boost for ETH spot ETFs
The Cboe, in order to comply with the authorities, would propose a new staking model that does not require the intervention of third parties for custody. This would reduce the risk of theft, making the ETF like any other ETP that distributes dividends from its underlying assets.
If approved, this maneuver could set a precedent for other funds looking to integrate staking into their offerings. And analysts seem to be optimistic from this point of view.
Hester Peirce, head of a crypto task force at the SEC, had previously suggested that staking in Ethereum ETFs was a topic for discussion, so the forecasts can only be optimistic.
