Nasdaq Pushes for Staking in BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF as SEC Decision Looms – A Game Changer for Crypto?
Wall Street meets Web3 as Nasdaq makes a bold play to integrate staking into BlackRock’s proposed Ethereum ETF. The SEC now holds the keys to what could become crypto’s mainstream financial instrument—or another bureaucratic speed bump.
Why it matters: Institutional adoption hangs in the balance. With BlackRock’s $10 trillion weight behind this move, approval could send ETH prices soaring while finally giving TradFi brokers something to sell besides overpriced index funds.
The staking twist: Nasdaq’s filing cleverly exploits the SEC’s own rulebook, framing staking rewards as ‘enhanced yield’ rather than crypto voodoo. A masterclass in regulatory judo that might just make Gary Gensler’s head explode.
Bottom line: Whether this gets rubber-stamped or stuck in purgatory, one thing’s clear—the suits are all-in on crypto. Even if they still don’t understand it.
Competitive queue and deadlines
BlackRock joins a queue of issuers that have asked regulators to let their US-based spot Ethereum products earn protocol rewards.
Cboe seeks authority for Fidelity’s FETH, Franklin Templeton’s EZET, Invesco Galaxy’s QETH, and 21shares’ CETH.
On NYSE Arca, Bitwise seeks approval to stake the ETH held in its ETHW. At the same time, Grayscale seeks the same approval for its ETHE and mini trust.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart reacted to the Nasdaq submission on X,it was “about time.”
The first final deadline for prior filings is in October, while the deadline for Nasdaq’s filing on BlackRock’s ETF is in early April. However, Seyffart believes it is unlikely for the SEC approval to take that long.
Flows support issuer push
US-listed spot Ethereum ETFs attractedacross nine funds on July 16, marking a daily record.
ETHA led allocations with $499.2 million, marking a record for daily inflows into the fund, representing nearly 69% of the total.
The heavy inflows may indicate that institutional investors are betting on Ethereum’s fundamentals, such as its infrastructure for stablecoins and tokenized assets.
