On March 12, BlackRock commenced trading of its new Ethereum ETF, the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), on the Nasdaq exchange, achieving a debut trading volume of $15.5 million. According to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, this initial volume reflects a significant interest from investors, who purchased 621,705 shares. At launch, the assets under management reached $100 million, marking a promising start for the fund. Seyffart described these figures as “quite a respectable result for the first day.”
The ETHB differs from other BlackRock ETFs by generating returns through staking Ethereum, locking away between 70% and 95% of its assets depending on market conditions. Approximately 82% of the staking rewards will be distributed to investors monthly, similar to dividend-paying ETFs, while the remaining 18% will be allocated to the trust, custodians, and service providers. The fund charges a management fee of 0.25%, with a reduced rate of 0.12% applicable for the initial $2.5 billion in assets to attract early capital.
In addition to the Ethereum ETF, BlackRock is preparing to launch a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which will sell covered call options on Bitcoin futures to generate additional income for investors. On the same day as the ETHB launch, Bitcoin spot ETFs attracted $53.8 million, continuing a positive trend for four consecutive days, with total assets under management in these products reaching $90.4 billion. Among these, BlackRock’s IBIT fund led with an inflow of $46.1 million. The Ethereum ETF segment saw a total inflow of $72.3 million, contributing to a total of $11.8 billion since inception.
This launch highlights BlackRock’s growing involvement in the cryptocurrency market, reflecting broader institutional interest and the potential for innovative financial products in the evolving landscape of digital assets.
