REX Bets Big on ETH and SOL Staking ETFs—With a C-Corp Twist as SEC Warms Up

Wall Street’s latest crypto play? REX is rolling out staking ETFs for Ethereum and Solana—packaged in a rare C-Corp structure. Because nothing says ’innovation’ like dusting off a 20th-century corporate wrapper.

The move comes as the SEC shows uncharacteristic flexibility—maybe they finally checked the price charts. Staking rewards meet shareholder dividends in a mashup only finance could love.

Analysts whisper this could open floodgates for institutional crypto exposure. Critics yawn, calling it ’DeFi with extra paperwork.’ Either way, the race to monetize blockchain’s backbone just got a turbo boost.

ETH and SOL staking ETFs

According to the May 30 prospectus, each fund will own a wholly owned Cayman Islands subsidiary that buys spot Ethereum and Solana and participates in protocol staking to earn native rewards.

Nasdaq will list the products under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

REX Advisers will charge a 0.75% management fee and cover ordinary operating costs. At the same time, the C-corp vehicle will accrue current and deferred US income tax, bringing estimated first-year expenses to 1.28% of assets.

Seyffart said that the C-corp wrapper, more common in master-limited-partnership funds, appears to have provided “one way to get some level of sign-off from the SEC” for staking revenue inside a registered ETF. 

Because 40-Act funds do not require an exchange-rule change, they avoid the 19b-4 filings that delayed spot Bitcoin ETFs until January 2025 and still block traditional grantor-trust vehicles from staking.

Seyffart:

Filing follows SEC clarification on staking

The submission lands one day after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whether self-directed, delegated, custodial, or pooled, does not constitute a securities transaction under federal law.

The staff letter said participants “do not need to register” those activities, removing a central legal question that has clouded ETF staking proposals.

Market observers view the guidance as an opportunity for fund issuers seeking to add yield to their proof-of-stake holdings. The SEC cautioned that ancillary services such as slashing protection or early-withdrawal features still require a case-by-case analysis, but the Core activity no longer faces blanket prohibition.