VanEck Withdraws Lido Staked Ether ETF Application

VanEck filed a Form RW with the SEC on Oct. 14, withdrawing the registration statement for its Lido Staked Ethereum ETF. The company stated it "does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution" of the trust's shares. The application was originally filed in October 2025; the registration was never declared effective and no shares were ever sold to investors.

Details

The proposed fund was designed to hold stETH — Lido's liquid staking token — rather than staking ether directly through validators. The product aimed to "closely mirror Ethereum's staking economics" while maintaining daily liquidity and transparent on-chain backing.

The withdrawal comes against the backdrop of BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), which launched in March 2026 and has accumulated $409.8 million in net assets as of March 31. Unlike VanEck's proposed product, ETHB stakes ether directly without relying on a third-party token. Traditional brokers have also expanded access to staking: Interactive Brokers launched Ethereum staking via Zerohash in October 2026.

Lido's total value locked dropped to roughly $23.6 billion from $33.3 billion a year ago, according to Bitcoin.com. The SEC Form RW was filed under Rule 477 of the Securities Act of 1933.

What It Means for Markets

The withdrawal leaves BlackRock's ETHB as the dominant regulated vehicle offering institutional investors access to Ethereum staking yields. For Lido, the loss of a potential institutional distribution channel for stETH adds pressure on a protocol already navigating declining TVL. Investors seeking staking returns through an ETF wrapper now have fewer alternatives to ETHB — or must turn to direct staking through traditional brokerage platforms.