Cboe BZX Exchange Proposes Staking for 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF

The Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. has filed a proposal to allow staking for the 21Shares Core Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).

In a Form 19b-4 submitted on Wednesday afternoon, the exchange has suggested permitting ether staking and is now waiting for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) response.

> “Based on discussions with the Sponsor, the Exchange proposes to amend several portions of the Eth ETP Amendment No. 2, as amended, in order to allow the staking of the Ethereum held by the Trust,” stated the filing.

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart highlighted this filing as potentially the first ETF with a request for staking approval from the SEC.

> “Assuming this is acknowledged by the SEC (I’d probably make that assumption right now but you never know),” Seyffart shared in a post on X.

The SEC had approved the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF last year, along with ETFs from other firms like BlackRock and Fidelity. Many firms removed staking from their applications prior to SEC approval. Under the previous SEC Chair Gary Gensler, there were claims that proof-of-stake tokens are securities. However, with a new Trump administration expected to adopt a more favorable stance towards crypto, the SEC has formed a crypto task force aimed at potentially classifying some tokens as non-securities.