After the first wave of spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds launched without staking, BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), one of the industry’s most anticipated versions, begins trading on Nasdaq on Thursday.

The fund marks the asset manager’s third crypto ETF and the first from BlackRock to incorporate staking. ETHB will hold spot ether and stake a portion of those holdings on the Ethereum network, allowing investors to potentially earn rewards while benefiting from price movements.

The new vehicle expands BlackRock’s existing digital asset lineup, which includes the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Those funds have grown rapidly since their launches, with IBIT today managing more than $55 billion in assets and ETHA about $6.5 billion.

“This is really about investor choice,” Jay Jacobs, BlackRock’s U.S. head of equity ETFs, told CoinDesk in an interview. "While ETHA has developed liquidity and a growing derivatives market, some investors are focused on maximizing total returns by combining ether price exposure with staking rewards, he added."

Ethereum uses a proof-of-stake system that allows holders of its native token to lock up coins to help validate transactions and secure the network. In return, participants receive rewards, which many investors view as a yield-like feature of the asset.

Until now, most ether ETFs have offered only price exposure without staking, although some asset managers, including Grayscale, have recently launched ETFs with staking capabilities. Jacobs said that gap may have discouraged some crypto-native investors from moving assets into exchange-traded funds.

“Some investors who already hold ether directly were staking it and weren’t ready to move into an exchange-traded product because they would lose that feature,” he said. "By incorporating staking, the ETF allows investors to keep the benefits of staking while gaining the operational advantages of an ETF structure."

Those advantages include institutional-grade custody, the ability to trade through traditional brokerage accounts and integration with standard portfolio allocations alongside stocks and bonds.

The product may also appeal to certain institutional investors who prefer assets that generate income or cash flow.

“For some institutions, when they evaluate an investment, they want to think about it from a cash flow perspective,” Jacobs said. Staking rewards may help make ether more comparable to other assets in portfolio models.

Read more: Crypto ETFs with staking can supercharge returns but they may not be for everyone

BlackRock expects interest in the product to come from a wide range of investors, including individual traders, financial advisors and institutional allocators such as hedge funds and family offices.

The fund carries a 0.25% sponsor fee, though BlackRock is waiving part of the cost for the first year, reducing it to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion in assets. Jacobs said the temporary discount is intended to help the product gain traction in its early months.

Despite the growth of crypto investment products, allocations to digital assets remain relatively small in traditional portfolios. Institutions are typically allocating in the “low single digits,” often around 1% to 2%, according to Jacobs. At those levels, he said, the risk contribution of bitcoin or other digital assets can be comparable to the exposure investors already accept from large technology stocks within diversified portfolios.

BlackRock has rapidly become one of the largest players in crypto investment products. The firm oversees roughly $130 billion across crypto-related exchange-traded products, tokenized liquidity funds and stablecoin reserve management. According to the company, iShares captured about 95% of flows into digital asset ETPs in 2025.

For now, Jacobs said the firm remains focused on expanding adoption of its existing crypto products, particularly bitcoin and ether, as many investors are still learning about the asset class.

“We’re still in the early days of digital asset ETF adoption,” he said. “For many investors, this is the first step.”