BlackRock Launched a Bitcoin ETF That Dominated Inflows. Then It Launched a Second Product That Changes What a Crypto ETF Can Do.

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On March 11, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust pulled in $115.51 million in net inflows, accounting for nearly the entirety of the $115.42 million that flowed into US spot Bitcoin ETFs that day. Ethereum spot ETFs added $57 million separately.

The following morning, BlackRock did something it has not done with any previous crypto product. It launched a fund designed to pay investors while they wait.
The iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, trading under the ticker ETHB on Nasdaq, began trading on March 12. It is BlackRock's third crypto ETF and its first to incorporate staking.

Under normal market conditions, ETHB stakes between 70% and 95% of its ether holdings via Coinbase Prime. Investors receive approximately 82% of gross staking rewards, currently running at roughly 3.1% annually, distributed monthly. BlackRock and Coinbase retain 18% as a staking fee.

The fund charges a 0.25% sponsor fee, discounted to 0.12% for the first year on the first $2.5 billion in assets. It launched with just over $100 million in initial assets and recorded $15.5 million in first-day trading volume, which market watchers described as a solid debut for a new ETF.

Two things made ETHB possible that were not in place when BlackRock launched its spot Ethereum ETF, ETHA, in July 2024. The first is the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin framework passed in July 2025, which cleared the regulatory runway for yield-generating crypto products.

The second is the departure of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who had instructed firms to strip staking components from their ETF filings. Under Chair Paul Atkins, the SEC approved ETHB's structure without objection.

ETHB is not the first staked Ethereum product on the market. Grayscale launched before it, and the REX-Osprey ETH + Staking ETF also preceded BlackRock's entry. What changes with ETHB is the scale of distribution and the institutional credibility behind it. ETHA, the non-staking version, currently holds $6.5 billion in assets. IBIT, the Bitcoin ETF, holds over $55 billion. BlackRock now manages more than $130 billion across its crypto-related exchange-traded products.

Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's global head of digital assets, said at launch that ETHB gives investors an avenue to participate in Ethereum's ecosystem while earning staking rewards. Jay Jacobs, the firm's US head of equity ETFs, described the launch as a choice product — meaning investors who already hold ETHA for pure price exposure now have a yield-generating alternative from the same issuer.

The structural implication of ETHB extends beyond Ethereum. If a staked proof-of-stake asset can be packaged into an ETF that distributes monthly yield, the same structure applies to other proof-of-stake networks. Solana and Cardano staking ETF filings are already in front of the SEC. BlackRock has not filed for either. It does not need to. It has demonstrated the mechanics work.

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