TL;DR
- BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) launched on Nasdaq on March 12, 2026
- The first trading day saw $15.5 million in turnover and $106.7 million in assets under management
- Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart called the debut "very, very solid for a day 1 ETF launch"
- The ETF is BlackRock's first to include staking, passing on 82 percent of staking returns to shareholders
BlackRock launches its first staking ETF
On Tuesday, March 12, 2026, BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) opened for trading on Nasdaq. According to The Block, the product traded $15.5 million on its first day, and the fund started with $106.7 million in net assets under management.
ETHB is BlackRock's third cryptocurrency ETF and differs from the company's existing Ethereum product (ETHA) in that it actively stakes underlying ether. According to the fund's prospectus, between 70 and 95 percent of the holdings are staked, and 82 percent of gross staking rewards are distributed monthly to shareholders.
“Very, very solid for a day 1 ETF launch” — Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart on the ETHB debut
Analyst: Solid, but not record-breaking
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart characterized the debut as strong, according to The Block. However, it is worth noting that $15.5 million in day-1 volume is significantly lower than several other crypto ETF launches over the past two years.
In comparison, Bitwise's Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) generated $55.4 million in turnover on its debut in October 2025, while the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF (SSK) traded $33.7 million when it launched in July 2025. The figures indicate that Solana-based staking products have so far generated stronger first-day interest than the new Ethereum product.
Historical context: Far below the Bitcoin ETF rocket
To put the numbers in perspective: When spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in January 2024, the products generated billions in institutional inflows already in the first few days. BlackRock's own IBIT reached $10 billion in assets under management in just 51 days — the fastest ever for an ETF product. As of March 2026, IBIT manages over $55 billion.
When spot Ethereum ETFs were approved in July 2024, they collectively traded over $1 billion on their first trading day. BlackRock's ETHA alone had $266.55 million in net inflows on its debut and, as of March 13, 2026, manages around $6.5 billion.
ETHB's debut thus appears moderate in the context of cryptocurrency ETFs — though reasonably strong when measured against the broad ETF market generally, as Seyffart points out.
Staking as a new competitive advantage
What distinguishes ETHB from previous Ethereum ETFs is precisely the staking mechanism. By giving shareholders direct exposure to staking returns — without them needing to manage nodes or lock up funds themselves — BlackRock is trying to increase the financial attractiveness of the product compared to a pure spot ETF.
It remains to be seen whether this will attract more capital over time, especially in a market where the Fear & Greed Index as of March 13, 2026, is at 15 out of 100 — i.e., in "extreme fear" territory — and Bitcoin is trading around $72,400.
Sources: The Block, Bloomberg Intelligence (via The Block)
