Investment firm VanEck has submitted a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking approval for the VanEck Lido Staked ETH ETF, an exchange-traded fund providing institutional investors with exposure to stETH, the liquid staking derivative of Ethereum via the Lido protocol.
ETF Designed Around Lido’s Liquid Staking Infrastructure
The proposed ETF will hold stETH tokens and leverage the advantages of proven smart contracts, high secondary-market liquidity, and integration with custodians and exchanges. Since Lido’s inception, users have earned over $2 billion in staking rewards, with the protocol’s total value locked exceeding $40 billion.
Institutional Recognition of Liquid Staking
According to Kian Gilbert, Head of Institutional Relations at the Lido Ecosystem Foundation, the introduction of an stETH-backed ETF signals growing institutional recognition of liquid staking as a key component of Ethereum’s ecosystem. Gilbert emphasized that Lido combines decentralization with institutional-grade standards, making stETH a viable option for professional investors.
Regulatory Context
The SEC has previously clarified that liquid staking tokens, including issuance, redemption, and trading, generally do not fall under securities regulations when conducted within technical and administrative procedures.
If approved, the VanEck Lido Staked ETH ETF would become the first stETH-linked ETF in the U.S., marking a milestone in institutional adoption of Ethereum liquid staking products.
Earlier, Canary Capital launched the TRUMP-ETF, which was listed with DTCC, highlighting the growing diversity of thematic and crypto-linked ETFs in the U.S. market.
