VanEck’s New ETF Could Bring Ethereum Staking Straight to Wall Street

VanEck is making a bold move into Ethereum’s staking economy with a new proposal that could become the first ETF tied to staked ETH.

The investment firm has filed for regulatory approval of a fund that mirrors the value of stETH, the token issued through the Lido protocol.

If greenlit, the VanEck Lido Staked Ethereum ETF would give institutions a compliant way to access staking rewards without directly locking up their crypto – something the market has been anticipating since the SEC softened its tone on staking earlier this year.

The Lido Foundation welcomed the move, calling it proof that liquid staking has become “a cornerstone of Ethereum’s infrastructure.” Kean Gilbert, who oversees institutional relations at Lido, said the protocol’s model shows that decentralization and regulatory trust can function together.

The filing lands at a time when the SEC, under Chair Paul Atkins, is taking a friendlier stance toward digital assets. The agency recently launched Project Crypto to modernize how it handles custody and token trading, and in May clarified that staking activities don’t count as securities transactions. That statement was later expanded to confirm that liquid staking receipts like stETH represent ownership of non-securities assets – effectively paving the way for products like VanEck’s.

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VanEck’s proposal joins a long list of pending crypto ETFs, including those tracking Solana and Dogecoin. Many were delayed during the government funding pause, but with regulatory momentum shifting, analysts say 2026 could bring a new wave of approvals.

If approved, the ETF could blur the line between traditional finance and DeFi, offering Wall Street its first regulated taste of Ethereum’s staking economy.