BlackRock introduced the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF, an exchange-traded product that provides investors with exposure to spot ether while potentially generating income by staking a portion of its ether holdings. ETHB expands BlackRock?s digital asset offering, which includes the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, both the largest ETPs of their kind with over $55 billion and $6.5 billion in assets under management respectively. The iShares Trusts are not investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and therefore are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds or ETFs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Ether, as the native token of the Ethereum network, represents exposure to the expanding economic activity taking place on Ethereum, and the staking of the Trust?s Ether holdings offers an additional source of potential return. iShares now offers investors a choice between ether exposure and a staked option designed to provide income. ETHB carries a 0.25% sponsor fee with a one-year waiver reducing the fee to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion assets under management.
BlackRock oversees roughly $130 billion in assets across cryptoasset ETPs, tokenized liquidity funds, and stablecoin reserve management. iShares captured approximately 95% of industry flows into digital asset ETPs in 2025. Staking incomes fluctuate over time based on total amount of ether staked and prevailing network conditions.
BlackRock will waive a portion of the Sponsor?s Fee for the first 12 months commencing on March 12, 2026, so that the fee will be 0.12% of the net asset value of the Trust for the first $2.5 billion of the Trust?s assets. If the fund exceeds $2.5 billion of the Trust?s assets prior to the end of the 12-month period, the management fee charged on assets over $2.5 billion will be 0.25%. All investors will incur the same Sponsor?s Fee which is the weighted average of those fee rates.
After the 12-month waiver period is over, the Sponsor?s Fee will be 0.25%. The iShares Trusts are not commodity pools for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act. Investing involves a high degree of risk, including possible loss of principal.
An investment in the Trust is not suitable for all investors, may be deemed speculative and is not intended as a complete investment program. An investment in Shares should be considered only by persons who can bear the risk of total loss associated with an investment in the Trust. Investing in digital assets involves significant risks due to their extreme price volatility and the potential for loss, theft, or compromise of private keys.
The value of the shares is closely tied to acceptance, industry developments, and governance changes, making them susceptible to market sentiment. Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry, and the value of the Shares depends on their acceptance. Changes in the governance of a digital asset network may not receive sufficient support from users and miners, which may negatively affect that digital asset network?s ability to grow and respond to challenges Investing in the Trust comes with risks that could impact the Trust's share value, including large-scale sales by major investors, security threats like breaches and hacking, negative sentiment among speculators, and competition from central bank digital currencies and financial initiatives using blockchain technology.
A disruption of the internet or a digital asset network would affect the ability to transfer digital assets and, consequently, would impact their value. There can be no assurance that security procedures designed to protect the Trust?s assets will actually work as designed or prove to be successful in safeguarding the Trust?s assets against all possible sources of theft, loss or damage. The amount of ether represented by shares of the Trust will decrease over the life of the Trust due to sales of ether necessary to pay the sponsor's fee and trust expenses.
Without increases in the price of ether sufficient to compensate for that decrease, the price of the shares will also decline, and investors will lose money on their investment. The liquidation of the Trust may occur at a time when the disposition of the Trust's ether will result in losses to investors. The value of the shares of the Trust will be adversely affected if ether owned by the Trust is lost or damaged in circumstances in which the Trust is not in a position to recover the corresponding loss.
Smart contracts, including those relating to decentralized finance applications, are a new technology and their ongoing development and operation may result in problems, which could reduce the demand for ether or cause a wider loss of confidence in the Ethereum network, either of which could have an adverse impact on the value of ether. Staking introduces a risk of loss of ether, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares. Staking includes an activation, exit, and withdrawal process.
During each stage of the process, the Trust?s staked ether cannot be sold or transferred, thereby making it illiquid for the period it is being staked. The Ethereum protocol limits validator activations and exits per epoch, so only a controlled amount of staked ETH can turnover during each period. During periods of elevated validator demand, the activation queue may extend for days, weeks, or months.
While queued for activation, the Trust?s ether will not accrue rewards. The staked ether will also not accrue rewards during the withdrawal period. At each step in the staking process, staked ether may also be exposed to risks such as security breaches, smart contract vulnerabilities, and validator or custodian failure or compromise, any of which could result in a complete loss of the staked ether or associated rewards.
There is no guarantee that the Trust will receive any rewards with respect to staked ether. Shares of the Trust are not deposits or other obligations of or guaranteed by BlackRock, Inc., and its affiliates, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
