BlackRock launched the iShares Staked Ethereum (ETH) Trust ETF (ETHB) on Nasdaq, its first cryptocurrency fund to incorporate staking, combining spot ether exposure with network yield passed through to investors monthly.
On the same day, Robert Mitchnick, the firm's global head of digital assets, told CNBC that more than 90% of its iShares Bitcoin (BTC) Trust (IBIT) investor base has been in steady accumulation mode, including through price declines.
The dual disclosure provides the clearest public picture yet of how BlackRock's crypto investor base actually behaves versus how it is typically portrayed.
ETHB: Structure and Economics
ETHB stakes between 70% and 95% of its ether holdings via Coinbase Prime, with Figment, Galaxy Digital, and Attestant as approved validators. Investors receive approximately 82% of gross staking rewards - currently running at roughly 3–4% annually - distributed on a monthly schedule.
BlackRock and Coinbase retain 18% as a staking fee. The fund carries a 0.25% sponsor fee, discounted to 0.12% for the first year on the first $2.5 billion in assets.
The launch addresses a structural gap in the first generation of U.S. spot ether ETFs, which were required to strip staking from their filings under the previous SEC administration. BlackRock's non-staking ether ETF, ETHA, currently holds approximately $6.5 billion in assets.
ETHB is not the first staked ether product in the U.S. - Grayscale and REX-Osprey launched earlier - but it enters with a distribution footprint no competitor can readily replicate.
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Who Is Actually Buying IBIT
Mitchnick told CNBC that retail investors, financial advisers, and institutional accounts collectively account for more than 90% of IBIT's investor base, and that cohort has "tended to be very steady" and followed an accumulation path throughout market declines.
Hedge funds, which account for the remaining roughly 10%, engage in tactical strategies such as basis trades - going long on the spot ETF while shorting futures - that produce temporary inflow and outflow signals without reflecting directional conviction.
IBIT drew approximately $26 billion in net inflows during 2025, placing it in the top five U.S. ETFs by annual inflows despite Bitcoin posting negative returns for the year, according to Bloomberg data.
The fund now holds over $55 billion in assets. BlackRock's total crypto product AUM, including IBIT, ETHA, ETHB, and tokenized funds, stands at approximately $130 billion.
Mitchnick said BlackRock evaluates potential additional crypto ETFs against criteria of liquidity, market maturity, scale, and identifiable use cases. No specific assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum were mentioned.
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