BlackRock's ETHB staking ETF hits $1B AUM, but ETHA fund still dominates
In brief
- ETHA held $8.96B in net assets versus $1.05B for ETHB on September 11
- ETHA generated $1.86B in daily share turnover versus $61.8M for ETHB
- ETHB distributed $0.036487 per share after launching staking rewards in May
- Both funds maintain similarly tight bid-ask spreads at 0.05% to 0.06%
- Institutional investors initially viewed missing staking as structural weakness for Ethereum ETFs
Staking Hasn't Shifted the Balance
ETHA held approximately $8.96 billion in net assets on September 11, while ETHB held roughly $1.05 billion. The gap in trading volume was even wider. ETHA generated an estimated $1.86 billion of share turnover that day, approximately 30 times ETHB's $61.8 million. Despite the yield advantage, ETHA attracted far larger net inflows — ETHA drew $148.8 million compared with $18.3 million for ETHB.
The liquidity profiles remain competitive. BlackRock reported a 30-day median bid-ask spread of 0.05% for ETHA as of September 11, compared with 0.06% for ETHB, suggesting both funds trade with institutional-grade efficiency.
The Staking Thesis Under Pressure
When US spot Ethereum ETFs launched in July 2024, the absence of staking income stood out as a critical gap. JPMorgan cited the removal of staking from ETF filings as one reason it expected weaker demand than for Bitcoin funds. BitMEX Research similarly argued that institutional investors could find non-staking products less attractive, and Galaxy Digital estimated that giving up staking represented a meaningful opportunity cost for ETF investors.
ETHB's performance complicates that narrative.
Two Products, Two Strategies
ETHA provides straightforward exposure to ether without staking. ETHB stakes part of its holdings and distributes a portion of the resulting income to shareholders. As of September 10, about 75.85% of ETHB's ether was classified as staked, while roughly 24.15% remained unstaked.
ETHA has had substantially more time to accumulate assets, trading relationships, and institutional adoption compared to ETHB. Yet ETHB's roughly $1 billion asset base represents meaningful demand for a newer product, indicating a genuine segment of investors willing to accept lower trading volume and tighter spreads in exchange for yield.
The data suggest the staking thesis wasn't wrong — it was simply incomplete. Yield matters. Simplicity matters more.
