Grayscale has made history on Wall Street. The American crypto asset manager has become the first to pay out staking rewards to the shareholders of one of its listed Ethereum funds.
First for Ethereum ETFs
The crypto giant announced in a press release on Monday that it has distributed Ethereum staking rewards to all shareholders of its Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (ticker: ETHE). This is a listed fund that holds Ether and thus offers exposure to the Ethereum price.
This concerns a distribution of $0.083178 per share. The reward is made up of staking proceeds earned between October 6 and December 31. The payment will take place on January 6.
What is Ethereum staking?
Ethereum has been working with a so-called proof-of-stake network since 2022. Participants stake their Ether to secure the network and validate transactions. In return, they receive rewards. That process is called staking and is often seen as a form of passive income.
“Distributing staking rewards to ETHE shareholders is a milestone not only for Grayscale, but for the entire Ethereum community and ETPs in general,” said CEO Peter Mintzberg.
“As the first Ethereum ETP in the US to extend staking rewards to investors, we underscore Grayscale’s role as an early leader in adding new digital capabilities to exchange products.”
Not the only one with staking rewards
In October, Grayscale was also the first fund manager to enable the discontinuation of all listed crypto funds in the United States. This applied to both its Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF and the Ethereum Mini Trust ETF.
Other parties, such as Rex Shares/Osprey Funds and 21Shares, have also launched Ethereum ETFs with staking. But Grayscale is the first to actually pay out.
In the summer of 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a series of Ethereum ETFs, including Wall Street giants BlackRock and Fidelity. More than $12.5 billion has already flowed into these funds.
Bitcoin (BTC) went public on the American stock exchange a few months earlier and many more cryptos have been added in recent months. Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Chainlink (LINK), among others, are now accessible via the exchange.
The Solana funds also pay out staking rewards. Just like Ethereum, Solana runs on Proof-of-Stake.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/grayscale-schrijft-geschiedenis-met-stakinguitkering-voor-ethereum-etf/
