SEC Puts Grayscale’s Ethereum Staking Dreams on Ice Until 2025 🥶⏳

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In a move that will thrill absolutely no one except perhaps the most ardent devotees of bureaucratic suspense, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again demonstrated its flair for procrastination by postponing its verdict on whether Grayscale might be allowed to dabble in the novel art of staking with its Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The verdict, much like a particularly tedious dinner party, has been deferred until the sultry days of July 2025.

Grayscale, that intrepid purveyor of investment products, currently offers the Grayscale Ethereum Trust and the Mini Trust—both tethered, rather snugly, to Ethereum. Their grand plan? To sprinkle a little staking magic on these funds, thereby enabling investors to earn rewards simply by being good citizens of the Ethereum network. Think of it as earning interest on your ETH, but without the bother of actually doing anything.

The decision was originally slated for April 17, but the SEC, wielding its powers under the venerable Securities Exchange Act of 1934, has elected to take an additional 90 days to ponder the matter. One suspects they are consulting tea leaves or perhaps the entrails of a particularly cryptic ledger. Thus, the final say will now arrive fashionably late in July.

Grayscale’s proposal is charmingly straightforward: allow the fund itself to stake ETH and collect passive rewards. They are keen to assure the world that investor funds will remain as untouched as a debutante’s reputation; staking will be conducted solely by Grayscale, the sponsor, while Coinbase Custody will continue to guard the ETH with the vigilance of a butler protecting the silver.

Yet, the SEC remains wary, as no U.S. ETF has ever ventured into the staking wilderness before. It is hardly shocking that the Commission desires more time to scrutinize this uncharted territory. Indeed, this delay is but the latest in a series of bureaucratic hurdles faced by those daring enough to innovate in the crypto ETF arena.

The proposal, initially filed by NYSE Arca on the romantic date of February 14, 2025, is part of a broader campaign to infuse traditional finance with a dash of crypto panache. Should it receive the green light, it might well open the floodgates for other crypto ETFs to offer staking, thereby allowing investors to earn a little extra on the side—because who doesn’t like a bit of free money, even if it arrives fashionably late?

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2025-04-14 21:25