In July of this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially approved the trading application for Ethereum spot ETFs, making ETH the second cryptocurrency after BTC to enter the traditional financial trading market in ETF form.
However, four months have passed, and the traditional financial market has not shown the same enthusiasm for ETH as it has for BTC. The main reason lies in the fact that the narrative of ETH, which tends to lean towards innovative tech products, is less compelling to the traditional market compared to BTC's 'digital gold'; additionally, the continuous selling pressure from Grayscale's ETHE and the SEC's restrictions on Ethereum spot ETFs involving staking functionality have objectively weakened its attractiveness.
For investors in the Ethereum spot ETF, currently holding ETH through the ETF means missing out on staking yields (currently around 3.5%), and additionally, they must pay management fees ranging from 0.15% to 2.5% to the ETF issuer. While some investors may not mind giving up this yield for convenience and security reasons, there will inevitably be a portion of investors who will seek alternative solutions or even suspend their investment preferences as a result.
With Trump's victory, this situation is now experiencing a turnaround. The market anticipates that the cryptocurrency regulatory environment will be effectively improved, and the Ethereum spot ETF is expected to introduce staking functionality, thereby amplifying the attractiveness of this investment product and boosting ETH's strength.
On November 13, ETF issuer Bitwise announced the acquisition of Ethereum staking service provider Attestant. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated in an interview that currently one-fifth of Bitwise clients want to earn yields through staking, but in a few years, most clients may have this need. On November 20, European cryptocurrency ETP issuer 21 Shares AG announced the addition of staking functionality to its Ethereum Core ETP product, rebranding it as the 'Ethereum Core Staking ETP' (ETHC), which is currently listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange, Germany's Xetra Exchange, and the Amsterdam Euronext Exchange. On November 22, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, regarded as a token figure opposing cryptocurrency regulation, announced his departure on January 20, 2025, which further amplifies the probability of introducing staking functionality to the Ethereum spot ETF.
