The rise of “staking” crypto ETFs
There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:
Bitcoin wobbled around $92K after the latest Fed meeting. Also, several major analysts have revised their 2026 price predictions for BTC.
BlackRock just filed for an Ethereum staking ETF. Here’s what you need to know about how staking works with crypto ETFs.
The percent of Gen Z shoppers who say they want crypto for the holidays. That, and more stats to know from around the cryptoverse.
MARKET BYTES
Crypto markets seesaw after Fed’s latest interest-rate cut
After struggling for most of the final quarter of 2025 — and just one week after some analysts wondered if markets had entered a long-term “crypto winter” — crypto markets showed some signs of resilience as the end of the year approaches.
Bitcoin, which sank to lows near $80,000 in November, approached $95,000 before dipping slightly following the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut on Wednesday (more on that outcome below).
Ether, which fell below $3,000 over the weekend, jumped briefly past $3,400. Other altcoins also saw strong early-week gains, with XRP and Solana both up more than 5% on Tuesday.
What’s reviving markets and what might happen next? Here’s what you need to know.
What triggered market moves this week?
Analysts pointed to a variety of tailwinds to explain crypto’s early-week bounce. For one, brokerage giant Vanguard finally began allowing clients to access crypto ETFs — a big deal given the firm’s 50 million customers and $11 trillion in assets.
And as was widely expected, the Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by another quarter of a percent on Wednesday to a range between 3.5%-3.75%. The central bank also surprised most market-watchers by announcing it would resume buying treasury bonds, injecting liquidity into the financial system.
The central bank has been attempting to balance competing priorities — bringing down inflation, which remains above the Fed’s 2% target, without overcooling the job market — a tension that revealed itself in dissenting votes in both directions.
The Fed forecast one more cut in 2026, saying “the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”
Bitcoin, which had ticked upwards earlier in the week in anticipation of the move, fluctuated between $92,000 and $94,000 in the hours following the announcement.
Fed says... “There is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate this tension between our employment and inflation goals,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. He added that the central bank is “well-positioned to determine the extent and timing of additional [rate-cut] adjustments.”
Major analysts revise 2026 BTC predictions
After a shaky couple of months, two major financial institutions have revised their BTC predictions downward, though both remain strongly bullish.
Standard Chartered, which had previously predicted that BTC would hit $300,000 by the end of 2026, now puts that figure at $150,000. The firm’s longer-term prediction of BTC hitting $500,000 also has an extended timeline, moving from 2028 to 2030.
Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said one major driver of crypto prices in 2025 — publicly traded “crypto treasury companies” that have bought billions of dollars in BTC, ETH and other tokens — no longer have the valuations or incentives to keep buying at such a rapid clip.
“We think that Bitcoin buying by [crypto treasury firms] has run its course, while we expect ETF inflows to resume periodically,” Kendrick wrote. “We expect a consolidation rather than outright selling.”
New cycle… Wealth management firm Bernstein is also predicting $150,000 BTC by the end of next year, down from $200,000. However, the firm says its main thesis is unchanged: BTC is no longer tethered to a four-year price cycle. BTC “is now in an elongated bull cycle with more sticky institutional buying offsetting any retail panic selling,” Bernstein analysts said.
STAKING IT TO THE STREET
BlackRock just hopped on the staking crypto ETF trend
Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began allowing crypto ETFs to stake the crypto they buy, prompting some analysts to predict that the move would result in the “floodgates” opening for these crypto ETFs. So far? A growing, healthy stream of crypto ETFs that offer staking have begun to emerge in recent months.
They’re still a small part of the market, making up around $5.8 billion of the more than $140 billion of capital parked in crypto ETFs. But that seems likely to change. This week, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed an application to launch a new Ethereum ETF that includes staking.
What exactly does that mean, and will that be enough to crack open the floodgates officially? Here’s what you need to know.
What is staking?
Staking is a way that crypto holders can earn rewards for putting their crypto to work on a blockchain. Many major blockchains rely on a system called “proof-of-stake” to help process transactions and keep the network secure. In return for locking up tokens temporarily on the blockchain, asset holders earn a share of the transaction fees generated from network activity.
You can stake tokens like ETH, SOL, or AVAX directly with their respective blockchains, or by using a centralized platform like Coinbase or DeFi staking platforms like Lido.
Why is BlackRock launching a staked ETF?
BlackRock initially wanted to include staking in its spot Ethereum ETF when it launched last year. But at the time, SEC guidance discouraged staking from being included in crypto ETFs.
This year, with more crypto-friendly leadership at the SEC, BlackRock and other ETF issuers are moving once again to launch staked ETH products.
Earlier this fall, REX-Osprey launched the first Ethereum staking ETF, followed by Grayscale a few weeks later. Other firms, including Fidelity are also awaiting approval to launch a staked Ethereum ETF.
BlackRock’s crypto ETF products have been a massive success, with its bitcoin spot ETF reportedly becoming its single-highest revenue generating product less than two years after launch. Staked ETFs for other crypto tokens have seen consistent demand, with Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF seeing weeks of consecutive inflows despite a bearish market backdrop for crypto.
What are the benefits of a staked ETF?
All crypto ETFs allow a wide variety of investors access to crypto markets via conventional stock exchanges. But ETFs that offer staking also provide access to some of the rewards that accrue to the ETFs’ staked crypto without having to hold the crypto directly or manage the staking process. (That said, it’s easy to stake Ethereum, Solana, or other staking-compatible tokens via an exchange like Coinbase.)
Staking yield is determined by a variety of factors; the current annual yield for staking ETH is around 2%.
How does a staked ETF work?
When investors buy shares in a staked ETF, the fund then buys a corresponding amount of the underlying token, and each fund determines how much of its holdings will be staked.
In BlackRock’s case, their fund will aim to stake 70% to 90% of its Ethereum holdings, with the rest being left unstaked to ensure liquidity for investors who want to sell their shares. Staking rewards will be paid out to holders at least quarterly, and BlackRock will rely on Coinbase Custody and Anchorage Digital Bank to serve as the custodians of the ETH held in the fund.
What other staked ETFs exist?
Once launched, BlackRock’s staked Ethereum ETF will join publicly-traded staked Ethereum ETF products from Grayscale and REX-Osprey. And a number of firms, including Grayscale, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton also offer staked Solana ETFs, with Bitwise’s product having surpassed $500 million in assets-under-management in less than three weeks.
“A staked Ethereum ETF would mark BlackRock’s first crypto product to offer yield to its investors, potentially signaling a green light for further staked crypto ETFs from BlackRock and other issuers,” noted the Defiant.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
$900 million
Approximate net inflows for XRP ETFs, after notching positive flows over a consecutive 15-day stretch, as of Dec.5, according to data from SoSoValue. Multiple XRP ETFs launched on U.S. financial exchanges last month, and as CoinDesk notes, they became the “fastest growing ETF class,” signaling institutional demand for a growing lineup of altcoin investment funds.
56%
Polymarket odds, as of Wednesday morning, that “Artificial Intelligence” will be Time Magazine’s 2025 Person of the Year. In second place is NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang with 17% odds, followed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in third with 13%. (Polymarket is a Polygon blockchain-based prediction market, and one of the top two prediction platforms, alongside Kalshi.)
45%
Percent of Gen Z shoppers who say they would be excited to receive cryptocurrency as a gift this holiday season, according to a new survey from Visa.
TOKEN TRIVIA
When was Dogecoin originally created?
A
2011
B
2013
C
2015
D
2017
在下面查找答案。
琐事答案
B
2013
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