Reviewed by Reviewed by Renuka Tahelyani Updated 10:00 EDT October 7, 2026 Share Share Share Back to Top Ethereum [ETH] staking ETFs are turning protocol rewards into measurable income for investors. In just one year after inception, Grayscale’s Ethereum Staking Mini ETF created over $33.5 million in total net returns from staking
This indicated the benefits of staking are available outside of self-custody
At press time, 80.39% of the fund’s ETH was staked. Its Gross Staking Reward Rate stood at 2.66%, while its Net Staking Reward Rate reached 2.49%
The fund held around 929,000 ETH and approximately $2.5 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM), giving the model scale
For investors comparing spot Ether products, staking rewards offer another way to assess returns alongside fees and price performance
However, those rewards represent staking income rather than the fund’s total investment return
If the model attracts more capital, staking could become an increasingly significant part of institutional Ethereum investing
Ethereum’s staking growth now depends partly on whether the network can handle more activity. That is why Glamsterdam entered public testing on Sepolia on the 6th of October
Sepolia will test the way that Ethereum creates and verifies blocks. It will allow for other segments of the blockchain to verify and add transaction data more quickly
Successful testing could support a future Block Gas Limit above 200 million, compared with approximately 60 million. That would represent an increase of more than 233%
Even so, a higher limit would offer little benefit if validators could not keep pace with the additional workload. Developers therefore need to assess processing times, client performance, and reliable finality before progressing further
Hoodi remains a subsequent testing stage, with its activation date still undecided in the Foundation’s published schedule
The schedule also leaves mainnet activation open
Consistent performance on Sepolia would strengthen confidence ahead of further testing. Bottlenecks or client failures could require fixes and delay progression
For now, staking ETFs demonstrated one route to earning protocol rewards through investment products. Glamsterdam’s testing addresses another question: whether Ethereum can support greater activity without overwhelming the validators securing it
Muriuki Lazaro is a on-chain data analyst with a B.Sc. in Data Science. Muriuki specializes in dissecting complex on-chain data into clear and accurate insights for readers in the crypto ecosystem, with a particular focus on Bitcoin
