In October of this year, Grayscale reportedly became the first U.S. issuer to begin staking the ETH and SOL underlying its spot crypto ETFs. According to an update from Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), this made Grayscale one of the first asset managers in the U.S. to provide staking ETFs. Since this launch, various other issuers have filed for or rolled out staking ETF products, with others expected to follow soon.
Coinbase further explained in a blog post that ETH and SOL investors, staking offers an additional source of return on capital, “making it a key component of the investment opportunity.”
Before this, crypto ETF shareholders in the U.S. were “only allowed exposure to half of the equation, as the underlying assets were not being staked.”
Coinbase further stated in a blog post that as an investment opportunity, this created “an unfavorable gap between owning ETH or SOL via an ETF and buying the tokens directly.”
According to Grayscale’s March 2025 presentation to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, in the period “from their launch through February 2025 alone, spot ETH ETFs missed out on ~$61 million in staking benefits (and that doesn’t include daily rewards compounding).”
Adding staking closes “this gap for investors and packages staking rewards into a tradeable financial instrument.”
At a macro level, U.S. staking ETFs are expected “to strengthen the economic security of proof of stake networks through activating large pools of institutional capital for consensus participation.”
As explained by the Coinbase team, staking ETFs now aim to make crypto staking “accessible through one of the widely adopted investment structures in global markets.”
Crypto exchange Coinbase also mentioned in the update that they believe this development will “be a catalyst for institutions and regulators to begin thinking about how crypto and traditional finance can intersect to upgrade the financial system.”
A key partner Coinbase Institutional is reportedly one of the largest institutional ETH staking providers and “the primary custodian for 8 of the 9 spot ETH ETFs that were approved last July.”
Coinbase is also the staking operator for a number of ETPs in countries where staking ETPs had “been approved, including Virtune, WisdomTree, and 21Shares. ”
As staking ETFs begin rolling out in the U.S., they are working closely with issuers to “provide certifiably secure and robust institutional-grade staking services.”
Their prime brokerage platform, Coinbase Prime provides a one-stop shop for institutions “with its integrated custody and staking services.”
Their expertise as well as established track record in both of these areas gives them an “understanding of the challenges of operating staking ETFs.”
This has enabled them to build integrated custody and staking “offerings that abstract away the complexities of blockchain and staking.”
Key features include the ability “to manage staking workflows within the Prime UI or via the Prime Public API and access to a range of liquidity solutions.”
Prime also provides detailed “rewards reports, giving ETF issuers unparalleled insights so they can make informed investment decisions for their end users.”
Coinbase’s mission is to “bring one billion people onchain, and they believe staking ETFs will play a key role in our progress toward that mission.”