BlackRock plots staked Ethereum ETF as Vitalik Buterin warns of Wall Street capture

BlackRock is lining up a staked Ethereum exchange-traded fund even as Vitalik Buterin warns that institutions buying the crypto represents an existential risk to the asset.

The blockchain’s co-founder issued that warning just as a Delaware filing circulated on Wednesday. The filing reveals that BlackRock has registered its iShared Staked Ethereum Trust, according to a post by Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

The registration isn’t a formal application with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Still, it is a signal that the world’s largest asset manager will submit a fresh ETF bid, one with a baked-in Ethereum staking product.

The SEC approved Ethereum ETFs earlier this year, but those products did not include staking rewards. In May, the SEC issued guidance that clarified that certain staking products aren’t securities, paving the way for staking ETFs.

BlackRock’s bid comes amid Buterin’s alarms about large asset managers accumulating Ethereum. The Ethereum creator warned that a high concentration of Ethereum ownership on Wall Street could distort the blockchain’s governance and create centralised chokepoints.

BlackRock is already the biggest Ethereum ETF issuer in the US with its ETHA product amassing more than $13 billion in inflows since its launch.

The US ETF market as a whole holds about $18 billion in Ethereum, while Ethereum treasury companies hold another $18 billion of the cryptocurrency on their balance sheets.

BlackRock’s Delaware registration for its Ethereum staking ETFs also means the firm is set to enter the Ethereum staking ETF race.

In October, VanEck filed with the SEC for a Lido Staked Ethereum ETF. The ETF tracks the performance of Ethereum staked on Lido, a DeFi liquid staking protocol.

Lido users receive stETH, a liquid staking derivative of Ethereum, in exchange for locking up Ethereum on the protocol.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.