Grayscale turned on staking for its U.S. spot Ethereum and Solana investment products, adding a yield layer to exchange-traded vehicles while rules remain unsettled. The firm says more than 40,000 ETH, worth about $4.8 billion, already sits staked inside those products. The move allows staking rewards to flow through to shareholders even as regulators have yet to finalize conditions for such features.
Grayscale activated staking for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH), and for the Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL). ETHE and ETH, both listed in the U.S., now pass staking rewards to shareholders, while GSOL’s staking is active but its uplisting as an ETP is still awaiting approval. Grayscale reports that the 40,000 ETH staked in ETHE earns roughly 2.06% a year.
Neither trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so shareholders do not receive 40-Act fund protections.
Staking activation by Grayscale and product coverage
The company uses institutional custodians and a spread of validator providers to stake the assets, saying the process “helps secure the underlying protocols.” It also released an educational report titled “Staking 101 Secure the Blockchain, Earn Rewards.” Staking locks digital assets to run and secure a network, and the network pays extra tokens as a reward.
“Staking in our spot Ethereum next to Solana funds is exactly the kind of first mover innovation Grayscale was built to deliver,” said CEO Peter Mintzberg in the announcement.
Grayscale outlines concrete consequences for investors and market structure as staking enters U.S.-listed products. These touch adoption, liquidity and risk, regulatory treatment, and operational governance, shaping how rewards are earned and managed across custodians and validators.
Investors can earn ETH and SOL staking rewards through ordinary brokerage accounts, widening the buyer base. Locked assets may trade less freely and can incur penalties (slashing) or losses from validator failures.
Key points include that ETHE and ETH have staking active and are not 40-Act funds, while GSOL’s staking is active but its ETP uplisting awaits approval. Grayscale cites staked volume above 40,000 ETH, valued at approximately $4.8 billion by the firm, and has published the educational resource “Staking 101.”
The next events to watch are the SEC’s decision on GSOL’s uplisting and any rulings setting conditions for staking inside spot ETPs. Those outcomes will fix access rules, define compliance burdens, and influence whether Grayscale extends staking to additional products.
