SEC Delays Decision on Staking in Spot Ethereum ETFs

The United States securities regulator has delayed its decision on permitting staking in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds. 

Apr 15, 2025 - 04:00
SEC Delays Decision on Staking in Spot Ethereum ETFs

On April 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission delayed its decision on staking for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF.

In February, the New York Stock Exchange filed a proposed rule change on behalf of Grayscale that would permit staking for the products.

However, the regulator is not ready for this change yet and has postponed the decision until June 1.

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein,” it stated.

No Staking For Spot ETFs … Yet

Staking would allow investors the option to lock up the spot ETH backing the fund for additional yields. It was seen as one of the most attractive aspects of a spot Ether ETF, as staking is not available for Bitcoin ETFs. Other asset managers, such as 21Shares, have also applied to allow staking in their spot Ether products.

The move comes around a week after the SEC approved options trading for multiple spot Ethereum ETFs for funds from BlackRock, Bitwise, and Grayscale. Options trading allows investors the right to buy and sell contracts without having fixed expiry dates or prices.

There was no reaction in Ethereum prices, which remain at bear market lows and are down on the day, at around $1,625 at the time of writing.

Ether ETFs in the US have seen five consecutive days of outflows, with $88.5 million leaving the products since April 7, according to Farside Investors. Flows to the nine spot Ethereum ETFs now total $2.3 billion as Grayscale continues to keep the figure depressed with its large outflow.

Other ETF News

In related news, Canada is readying spot Solana ETFs to launch this week after the regulator gave the green light to multiple issuers, including Purpose, Evolve, CI and 3iQ, reported Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

He noted that the two Solana futures ETFs in the US “haven’t done much” and have very little in assets under management.

Meanwhile, ETF Store President Nate Geraci reported that US crypto exchange Kraken was rolling out stocks and ETF trading as it expands into different markets.

“Expanding into equities is a natural step for us and paves the way for the tokenization of assets,” the firm stated.

On April 10, Paul Atkins took the helm of the securities regulator after his nomination was cleared in a 52-44 Senate vote.

The post SEC Delays Decision on Staking in Spot Ethereum ETFs appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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